By Pastor Samuel Chess

Grace Emmanuel Church

Port St. Lucie, Florida

(Nine Divine Exchanges)

Introduction: Conformed to Christ’s Image

(Romans 8:29) … those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son

(Hebrews 9:26-28) …. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.

All the evil justly due to come onto us came onto Jesus so that all the good due to Jesus might be made available to us!

I. The Principle of Divine Exchange

A) The best “deal” in the universe

1) Jesus was punished so that we might be forgiven!

2) Jesus was wounded so that we might be healed!

3) Jesus died our death so we might share his life!

4) Jesus bore our guilt so we might share in his justification!

5) Jesus was made our curse so that we might receive our blessing!

6) Jesus bore our shame so that might share His glory!

7) Jesus endure our rejection so that we might enjoy His acceptance!

8) Jesus was made sin with our sinfulness so we might be made righteous by

His righteousness!

9) Our old life died in Jesus so that His new life might live in us!

II. The Nine Divine Exchanges

A) Exchange #1- Jesus was punished so that we might be forgiven!

(Isaiah 53:4-6) Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (NIV)

1) pierced for our transgressions

2) he was crushed for our iniquities

3) the punishment that brought us peace was upon him

Observation #1: As long as your sin is not forgiven you cannot have peace with God!

Observation #2: God will not make peace with sin!

Observation #3 -Forgiveness brings Peace

1) Forgiveness brings peace

(Romans 5:1) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV)

2) Forgiveness has a price

The only way any of us have the peace of God, and peace with God is because the punishment of our sins is being born by our Savior.

B) Exchange #2

(Isaiah 53:4-6) Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (NIV)

B) Exchange #2.…. By His wounds we are healed!!!

Let’s figure out exactly what the words say…

1) Surely he took up our infirmities

2) Surely he carried our sorrows

3) By His wounds we are healed

I don’t have to tell you that this particular passage is quoted by Christian teachers all over the world to mean what ever that particular teachers is wanting it to mean at the moment. I have seen these phrases, I think, badly abused…but at the same time we certainly don’t want God to be trying to tell us something here that we are missing.

It appears that the text would support that Jesus death was for our physical healing.

During this churches years of existence we have seen several people that we have prayed for miraculously healed……miraculously healed…and the truth of this verse has been claimed as a reason for that to happen. By the same token we have prayed for sick people in this church who then died.

Did we just fail to grasp the truth of this passage with those who died? Was our great faith rewarded in some cases and our lack of faith punished in other cases?

Does the physical wounding of Jesus even point to our present physical healing?

I think the Biblical answer to that is a qualified yes….but we must make sure we say only what the Bible says….First of all look at the Old Testament words used in Isaiah 53:

1) Surely he took up our infirmities- (chol-ee) malady, calamity

2) Surely he carried our sorrows-(makowb) anguish, affliction, pain, sorrow

3) By His wounds (bruises) we are healed- (cured, mended)

The words, themselves, seem to support that Jesus death provided a cure for our life calamities, our anguish our affliction, our pain….but what all is included in the pain that we are cured from?

We have two clear passages in the New Testament that quote Isaiah 53 that, if we look at the context, will show us what inspired scripture understood Isaiah to be saying:

(Matthew 8:16-17) When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases." (NIV)

Could it be that the phrase here…He took up our infirmities is talking about our spiritual sickness and the phrase he carried our diseases is talking about our physical sicknesses?

Let me show you another passage that is very clear:

(1 Peter 2:24) He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (NIV)

Without a doubt, Jesus spiritual and physical wounds provided for our spiritual healing. It also seems to be true that his physical wounds provided for physical healing.

Observation# 4 Jesus was wounded so that we might receive wholeness both spiritually and physically.

Let me reinforce this from an entirely different angle: In the new testament the word used for heal or make well is the Greek word “sozo”

Sozo- to save, it is constantly used to refer to Jesus saving us from sin

Sozo- to heal, it is often used to refer to salvation from physical problems

Let me give you some examples:

(Matthew 9:21-22) She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed." Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment. (NIV)

(Mark 6:56) And wherever he went-- into villages, towns or countryside-- they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed. (NIV)

(Luke 8:35-36) …. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people how the demon- possessed man had been cured. (NIV)

(Luke 8:49-50) While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," he said. "Don't bother the teacher any more." Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed." (NIV)

(Acts 4:9-12) If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. ' Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (NIV)

(2 Timothy 4:18) The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (NIV)

Observation # 5: Salvation is everything provided by Jesus on the Cross!!

However…I think many Christians reach this point in their thinking by a careful analysis of

Scripture, then they just dive off the cliff and leave careful analysis behind them.

If salvation is “everything Jesus provided for me on the cross” then that means everything he provided for me is available to me right this moment and for every future moment of my life.

You don’t have to let your logic work for very long to realize that that kind of utopia doesn’t exist in this fallen world. If it did, every time someone close to you died you could simply apply Jesus salvation to them and they would raise back to life. (not that they would thank you for it) If fact, if Jesus provided for our physical healing on the cross then no Christian would ever need to die. If you ever did get sick and God, in his mercy, brought you his divine healing (and I certainly believe that He does) he would not simply heal the symptoms of the sickness you were praying about….He would flush out every diseased cell in your body, even the corns would fall off your feet, the signs of aging would be reversed, the wrinkles would disappear and your skin would look like a baby’s.

The bulges would all tighten up and gravity would loose it’s hold on…this and that.

We need to remember our theology from earlier in this series:

(Romans 5:12-21) Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-- ….For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!…For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. (NIV)

Christ death brings you freedom from the guilt of sin, it justifies you before God and allows him to see your sins through the blood of Jesus shed in your place. It does not erase the effects of the fall…not in this life.

You still work by the sweat of your brow…woman still have pain in childbirth…you still struggle with the evil one, every day. We are all still living under the effects of the curse. You are still affected by Adam’s sentence of death because as you sit here in these seats today you are dying. As you sat here listening to me preach you had a millions cells just run out of steam and fall over with little xx’s in their eyes. While I’ve been preaching a piece of your skin just sagged another millimeter.

And God doesn’t busy himself with running around behind you propping up the sags. He doesn’t stop the cells from dying off each day including the non-reproducible brain cells. When you fall back from a oversized meal from all the wrong foods God isn’t duty bound to follow the cholesterol through your blood vessels and make sure it doesn’t attach to the walls of your arteries.

Observation # 6 While Jesus’ salvation provided everything you needed for spiritual and physical salvation he did not ever promise that you would receive all he provided in all it’s fullness…. today.

Observation #7 God was very clear that this life is a time of “training” for the next life and that our training will include obstacle courses.

(Hebrews 4:14-15) Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-- yet was without sin. (NIV)

There is no promise that the temptations will stop in this life….We are told that our high priest will sympathize with our weaknesses…not remove them!

The New Testament is filled with examples and admonitions on how to defeat the power of sin in this life and not one time is anyone promised a release from temptation in this life. In Philippians Paul talks about a man named Epaphroditus who was got sicker and sicker and people prayed harder and harder and he reached the point of death and finally, Paul said, God spared his life. Paul had the gift of healing…why didn’t he just heal him? He couldn’t! Paul himself had a sickness that he just had to learn to live with:

(2 Corinthians 12:7-8) To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. (NIV)

Observation # 8 From time to time God unleashes some of his healing power directly on the life of someone here on earth and brings instant and unexplainable healing to that person. He does not do it so much to make the sick person well (sooner or later the person will get sick again and eventually die) as he does to bring glory to himself.

Observation #9 At the end of this life every believer will, at the time of glorification, enjoy every single morsel of all Christ provided for them on the cross both physically and spiritually.

But I don’t want you to be discouraged with this news. Now that I’ve painted the negative side of your spiritual and physical healing let me come back with the positive side.

Observation # 10 Jesus provision for your healing both spiritually and physically, is not something he is going to provide in the future: “by his stripes you are healed!”

While you understand you are running up against the effects of the fall scripture is very clear that you are to pursue what you already know has been provided for you.

(James 5:14-15) Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. (NIV)

It seems to be perfectly in line with scripture to pursue physical healing in this life. Paul did. The prayer of faith will teach you the right thing to ask of God.

Observation # 11 We sometimes have less trouble believing God will heal us physically than to believe he will heal us spiritually.

If you are struggling with unresolved sin in your life…I’ve got news for you: The price for your sin has been paid…in full. The price for your spiritual healing has been paid for in full. Both have already been credited to your account.