“I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].”
JOHN 10:10 AMP
Somewhat agitated, Phyllis marched up to the speaker who had shared her testimony of how God healed her of cancer. “If it’s true that God heals today,” she said, “then my husband would still be here. I really think the abundant life Jesus spoke of in John 10:10 is all about the life that is waiting for us in heaven.”
When Jesus walked the earth, people didn’t seem to have a problem accepting and believing that He could heal the sick. Led by the teachings of the Pharisees and teachers of religious law, they didn’t believe He had the power to forgive their sins and save their souls. Ironically, Christians today have no issues with Jesus as the way to heaven through the forgiveness of their sin. But like Phyllis, they often struggle to believe He still heals the sick. Then as well as today, Jesus wants you to experience the completeness of your salvation. He wants you to live the abundant life of freedom He won for you on the cross. He wants you to walk in the fullness of life, till it overflows.
Phyllis believed that all this abundance is waiting for us in heaven. On this side of eternity, we’re supposed to grit our teeth and bear all that life throws at us, longing for the relief that will come only on that day when we go home to Jesus. To a certain extent, this is true. Death will remain the final earthly human condition until the complete coming of the Kingdom and the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:51–55). The Holy Spirit within us is a foretaste of this future glory, and we all eagerly wait for the day when God will give us our full rights as His children (Romans 8:23). However, if waiting passively for heaven is our entire Christian experience, we can miss out on the abundant life Jesus won for us here on earth, as well as our call and purpose to advance the Kingdom of God.
Walking in this fullness today begins with believing that your healing, like the gift of eternal life, is part of the atonement given by grace through faith in Christ. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus took your sicknesses and removed your diseases. He was beaten so you could be whole, and you were healed by His stripes (Isaiah 53:4–5). Matthew said that when Jesus cast out evil spirits and healed all the sick, He fulfilled these words spoken through the prophet Isaiah (Matthew 8:16–17). In the early church, the apostles continued to show that healing was a critical part of God’s message to the world (Acts 4:29–30; Romans 15:18–19). In other words, God considers your healing a “done deal.”
The fullness of your salvation is captured in one Greek word: sozo. This word is used 110 times in the New Testament and means “to save or make well or whole.” By using it in different contexts to refer to three aspects of salvation, the New Testament writers showed the completeness of the word. For example, sozo means saved from eternal destruction in Romans 10:9 (NIV): “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved [sozo].” Sozo refers to physical healing in Matthew 9:22: “Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, ‘Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well [sozo].’ And the woman was healed [sozo] at that moment.” And in Luke 8:36 (NIV), sozo refers to inner healing and freedom from strongholds: “Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured [sozo].”
Jesus died so you could live with Him forever in paradise, an abundant life beyond anything you could ask or imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9). But His sacred gift of eternal life began the moment you first believed. In Him, you can have life to the full, till it overflows: salvation from eternal destruction, physical healing, and freedom from demonic strongholds. He wants you to walk in the fullness.
Lord, I can’t begin to imagine the price You paid so I can be saved, healed, and made whole. Forgive me if I have had a limited understanding of Your gift of salvation, or have doubted that physical healing, like the gift of eternal life, has already been done for me. I know the assurance of spending eternity with You in heaven is the greatest gift of all, but I want more. I want to receive everything You died for, all You won for me on the cross. I want the full return for Your suffering to be manifest in my life on both sides of heaven.
Holy Spirit, please show me if I have believed any lies about You or lies about myself that have hindered my ability to wait in Your presence, believe in Your goodness, and receive Your love and blessing. Lord, open my eyes and reveal Your truth. I want to know You, Lord. I want to personally know You as Lord of my Salvation, my Deliverer, and my Healer. Sozo me, Lord. Show me how to walk in the fullness till it overflows.