Objection: Healing Is a Secondary Benefit of the Atonement, Not a Primary One

Would you tell your employer that you don’t want the less important fringe benefits at your job because you only want the main ones?  I doubt it.  Why be silly with God’s benefits when you would never think of doing that with man’s benefits?

This primary/secondary distinction is modern theological language that is absent from the Bible.  It’s also an absurd objection, because even if healing is only a secondary benefit, why not take advantage of the secondary benefit as well as the primary one?  Why not obey Psalm 103:2-3 and “Forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases?”  The only way a “secondary” benefit could not be for you would be if it were not for everyone.

No class of benefit from an atonement in Scripture was limited to only certain people under the covenant.  The Passover, which symbolized Christ, produced universal healing in Israel so that there was not one feeble person among their tribes (Psalm 105:37).  Anyone could look at the bronze serpent, which symbolized Christ, and be forgiven and healed (Numbers 21:5-9).  On many occasions in the Old Testament, the people sinned and a plague broke out, but when atonement was made, the plague was stopped.  Everyone was then free from getting it, not just some of the people.  When Hezekiah kept the Passover (the symbol of Christ), God healed the people, not just “some of” the people (2 Chronicles 30:18-20).

Matthew 8:16-17 makes it clear that Jesus healed all the sick people because of His coming atonement, which was for all.  (This is borne out elsewhere in this book.)  Therefore, He could not leave anyone out of a blessing that He was about to secure for all mankind.

This objection is either a dismissal of healing as not important or a lame way to say that healing is not really for everyone.

If you were sick from some painful, incurable illness, you would definitely think that healing was important!  It was important enough to Jesus so that He took stripes on His back to relieve you of having to suffer physical pain.  If it was important to Him, it should not be of “secondary” importance to you.

If healing isn’t for everyone, it can’t be part of Christ’s atonement at all because what Christ secured was for all.  It was either in His atonement or it wasn’t, but it couldn’t “sort of” be in His atonement and “sort of” not be in His atonement.  If it were “sort of” in His atonement, no one would have a basis for faith because no one would know if he could get this “secondary” benefit or not.  If you want to be healed, you must realize that healing was purchased for you by the same atonement that made the new birth available to you.

EVERY benefit provided at the cross cost Jesus something and matters to Him.  Therefore, it should matter to you as well.  God does not belittle any of His blessings by labeling them secondary or unimportant.  Neither should you.  Whether you think that healing is a PRIMARY or a SECONDARY benefit of the atonement, either way you agree that it IS in the atonement, so why not take advantage of it?

If Jesus didn’t want you to have this benefit, He wouldn’t have paid for you to have it!  It’s false humility to say that you don’t want ANY particular benefit that Christ provided, whether “primary” or “secondary.”