Revolution Era

1. The question about why Christians are sick if it's God's will to heal.

2. The TRUE meaning of the Lord's Supper, and the Atonement

3. What it means to be a mature believer who hears and does the commands of Christ.

To start, I will ask the question: If it really is God's will that people get healed, why are there sick people today? And if healing is for today, why are there sick Christians among us?

Strong questions. Which is good, because the Bible has strong answers. Here goes.

Part I

People are sick, predominately, for 3 reasons:

1. Not Discerning the Lord’s Body

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
. 1 Cor 11:23-30

Our misunderstanding of this passage, and the Atonement, has lead many of us to be weak, sick, and to die an untimely death. Big statement, I know. But let me explain. Below, I will be explaining the purpose of the Blood and the Body. Have you every wondered why Jesus separated the Eucharist in two parts? Let’s have a look.

a) The Blood – This much we have understood well. As John wrote, "...and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" 1 John 1:7.

The Blood took care of the Sin issue:
“...this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Matthew 26:28
and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.” Rom 3:24-25
“…to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” Eph 1:6-8

The Blood took care of the Law issue:
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” Leviticus 17:11.
"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Hebrews 9:12.
"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now ONCE in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Hebrews 9:24-26.

The Blood heals, redeems, and removed sin for the SOUL. Remember this.

b) The Body – Jesus calls us to partake of his body, in remembrance of him. This is the part of the Lord’s Supper where we, as the Church, seem to be really messed up on. Don’t take offence - just hear me out. Now let me ask you, when was the Church broken and killed for the sins of the world? Almost seems like a stupid question, right? Why is it then that church leaders will read verse 29, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body”, and say that we need to discern things within our congregation (the Church), and make sure there aren’t any grudges or unforgiveness? Let me be clear: There should never, regardless of the time or occasion, be issues of sin (anger, strife, grudges, immorality) among believers. You don’t need the Lord’s Supper to remind you of that. And examining ourselves, not introspectively, but by Holy Spirit, to see if we are in sin we shouldn’t be in, is also to be a constant practice of every believer.

The body we are to discern is not the Church. The church was not broken for mankind. We are not healed by the stripes of the Church. The body we discern is the body of Jesus Christ. The Body was broken for us during the Passion of Christ Jesus. His body being broken was part of the Atonement for mankind. By HIS stripes, we are healed. The Blood dealt with the Sin issue. The Body dealt with the wages, or products of sin (Note: don’t get weird and think this is a new doctrine – it’s not. It’s just a line of thinking to help you better understand the full work of the Passion of Jesus): weakness, sickness, curses, and death.

Now then, what is the meaning behind the ‘unworthy manner’, the ‘examination’, and ‘discerning the Lord’s body’? Let’s explore this together.

i) We have all heard about the dangers of partaking in an ‘unworthy manner’. But what manner is unworthy? Is it when we fail to be introspective? No! Go back and read 1 Corinthians 11:17-22! Divisions among believers, selfishness, getting drunk (no need to worry about this one anymore, since our religious forefathers reduced wine to grape juice), as well as other things. We know the Corinthian church has a track record of unrighteous actions amongst itself. Don’t partake of the Supper of the Lord the way they did. That’s that.

ii) Then why must we ‘examine ourselves’? To see if we are in sin we shouldn’t be in? Yes. But also, WITH EQUAL IMPORTANCE, we are called to examine ourselves to see if any of us have some fruit, or products of sin in our physical bodies – to be sick, injured, weak, or dying. This is why Paul writes,
“For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.”

We have had a great understanding that Jesus has atoned for our sins in the Church. By his blood, we are made clean and righteous before God. But what we must also embrace is that we are also able to examine ourselves for any trace of the products of sin. Sin is to the soul what sickness is to the body – BOTH HAVE BEEN ATONED FOR. Therefore, just as we are confident in the fact that our sins have been atoned for, we must have confidence that our infirmities have been atoned for. When we examine ourselves, we examine soul and body, for the Lord has given his Blood and his Body. Now, understanding this, let’s move on to the next verse.

iii) “For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment (κρίμα krima – ‘condemnation of wrong’) on himself, not discerning (διακρίνω diakrinō – ‘make distinction’, ‘prefer’)
the Lord’s body.”
Why do we need to recognize the body of the Lord Jesus Christ?
“[Jesus] 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" 1 Pet 2:24.

The Blood of Jesus heals, redeems, and atones for the SOUL. And the Body of Jesus heals, redeems, and atones for our physical BODIES.

“[God] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:4)

“saved”; σῴζω sōzō – verb, “save, i.e., from perishing, suffering, or sickness.”
SOZO saves the soul AND heals the body. It is a complete work.

If we ‘eat and drink’, meaning, participate in this act of remembering that Jesus was the Atonement for both the Law, and the Fall of Mankind, yet do so without recognizing that His Body was broken for us in order to deliver us from the consequences of sin (weakness, sickness, and death, as Paul noted), we fail to embrace the full measure of His Atonement. Therefore, we are left condemned (that is, in a fallen state), since we failed to accept His Sacrifice.

iv) “For if we would judge (διακρίνω diakrinō – ‘make distinction’, ‘prefer’) ourselves, we would not be judged (κρίνω krinō – ‘be put asunder’, ‘be judged’). But when we are judged (κρίνω krinō), we are chastened (παιδεύω paideuō – ‘instructed’, ‘taught’, ‘corrected as a child’) by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.” 1 Cor 11:31-32

Ok, so what is Paul saying here in verse 31? If we would make a judgment call regarding ourselves, seeing if we have deeds of sin, and/or sickness and disease, we will no longer be legally bound (judged) to carry these things, if we discern the Lord’s Body and embrace his full work of Atonement for us. If we would discern the Lord’s Body, and understand that he is the final Atonement for our sins, and the products of sin - infirmities, sickness, and death – then we can escape the consequences, or wages, of sin. Many Christians believe the sin issue has been dealt with, but fail to realize that the products of sin – sickness and death – have also been atoned for by the Body. That’s why Paul then says, “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.”

Then in verse 32, Paul relieves the fear his readers may have, thinking, “Am I now condemned because I’ve failed to discern the Lord’s Body?” The answer is no! For even if we have failed to discern the atonement through the Body of Jesus, Jesus Himself teaches us, leads us, and guides us into full revelation of His work, “that we may not be condemned with the world.”

2. We don’t practice a lifestyle of authority and freedom over Sin and it’s offspring

It’s amazing to hear Christians ask things like, “Well if it is God’s will that people are healed, why are some sick?” For the time being, I will limit my answer to explain why Christians are sick, and not explain why people outside of Christ are sick. So, why does this question amaze me? Because on the one hand, as we have studied above, Sin has been atoned for and dealt with by the Blood of Jesus. His blood covers all sin, period. Yet, Paul makes the practical reality of this Atonement very clear in his writings to his Roman church. He states:
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Rom 5:1-2

And,
“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” Rom 3:11-14

And again,
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” Galatians 5:16-26

So let me ask you: If the Sin issue has been dealt with, then why does Paul make it seem like we still need to deal with sin? It almost seems like we need to work at keeping ourselves free from sin! Yet the truth is, we do indeed need to fight and be disciplined in living out our freedom. The Atonement made a way for us, but the choice is ours to live from the Atonement – from the freedom Christ gives us. THE SAME IS TRUE FOR HEALING. It is our choice to fight and be disciplined in living free from sickness and disease. Just as we must learn how to live by the Spirit in terms of not committing “the acts of the flesh”, as Paul describes, we need to learn how to live by the Spirit in overcoming the fruits of sin – sickness, infirmity, disease, demonic influence, and untimely death.

It is in this context that James 5:13-18 makes sense and becomes attainable. It reads:

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? 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. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”

Before we dissect this, we need some more insight. Once again, our beloved translators have robbed us of the true value of the words used for sake of conformity. Therefore, let me provide a few translational insights.

5:13 “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.”
“suffering’; κακοπαθέω kakopatheō – “to suffer (endure) evils (hardships, troubles)”
‘pray”; προσεύχομαι proseuchomai – verb, “to offer prayers, to pray”

5:14 “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him.”
“sick”; ἀσθενέω astheneō – “weak, feeble, sick”
“pray”; προσεύχομαι proseuchomai - verb

5:15a “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.”
“prayer”; εὐχή euchē – noun, “prayer, vow”
“faith”; πίστις pistis – “conviction of truth”, root: πείθω - “confidence”
“save”; σῴζω sōzō – verb, “save, i.e., a perishing, suffering, or sick person”
Note: SOZO saves the soul AND heals the body. It is a complete work.

5:16a “... pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
“pray”; εὔχομαι euchomai – “pray to God”
“healed”; ἰάομαι iaomai – “cured, healed”

Now, James 5:16(b) is vital to understand. But it needs to be read and translated as close to the Greek as possible:

“πολὺ ἰσχύει δέησις δικαίου ἐνεργουμένη”

"πολὺ [great/much] ἰσχύει [power/strength/health] (does the) δέησις [urgent demand] δικαίου [of a righteous one] ἐνεργουμένη [powerfully put forth]."

“Much power does the urgent demand of a righteous one powerfully put forth.”

How amazing this that! Compared to most modern translations, such as the NIV, the verse just isn’t done any justice:

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (5:15b, NIV)

Now then, though some of you may feel that this was a bit too much of a Greek tour, I assure you, it was worth it. For now we have adequate knowledge to understand the passage as a whole. Not only that, but I want to propose that James 5:13-20 is a snapshot of a church that understands the full measure of the Atonement, the one we just studied above. I will even take this a step further, and suggest that James 5:13-16 is the practical guide for living out a lifestyle that understands, and functions from, the full measure of the Atonement that came from the Passion of Jesus Christ. Mighty words, I know. Let me prove it.

“Is anyone among you sick? 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. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

We have here two symptoms that derive from the same issue: SIN. Are you sick? Be healed. Are you in sin? Be healed. How else can you be healed from sin, apart from discerning the Lord’s Body and receiving His Atonement? Now, I’m not saying that you have Communion to get healing or forgiveness. I’m saying that James is teaching from and Atonement perspective. He equates sickness and sin as two sides of the same coin. Neither is an issue, since both were taken care of by Jesus. The only thing that James points out is the practical outworking of dealing with each symptom. What I mean is, though sickness and sin are the same coin, each side needs to be handled differently.

a) Take sickness for example. Notice that James doesn’t say that you need to deal with ‘hidden sin’, ‘generational curses’, or ‘unforgiveness’, labels the modern church loves to place on those suffering with illness. Nor does James say to be sure that it is God’s will first before you pray for their healing. He says, pray for them, and they will be healed. Now, here’s what we need to get. The HOW. How do you go from ‘you need to pray for them’, to, ‘they are now healed’?

From a Blood and Body Atonement understanding. This is key. Then, we are to pray in a way that looks like this:

"πολὺ [great/much] ἰσχύει [power/strength/health] (does the) δέησις [urgent demand] δικαίου [of a righteous one] ἐνεργουμένη [powerfully put forth]." 5:16b

In other words, if we pray from an understanding that the sickness has been atoned for, then the person no longer needs to carry it. Second, we should learn to pray understanding that Jesus has given us authority from heaven, and power by the Spirit of God that resides in us. You have a badge, and a gun. The robber is the sickness, and your orders are, “fire at will.” Get it? I am even willing to suggest that you don’t just pray once and walk away. Rather, you pray UNTIL they get healed. It could be 30 seconds. It could be 30 hours. However long it takes to take down the robber in the stakeout situation, you do what you are authorized and empowered to do until your job is done. This seems to be the ideal, based on the New Testament, and from the testimonies of people from around the world.

James even gives us an illustration as to how powerful and effective our praying can now be:

“Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” 5:17-18

He compares us to Elijah for crying out loud! Elijah prayed for a sign and wonder to take place – and it took place. James gives commentary of the Elijah story, saying that by his prayers he was able to move heaven, and heaven released his answer. Now where would James get such a crazy idea from?

“I [Jesus] will give you [my followers] the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19

What more evidence do we need to be convinced that we have the power and authority to pray for the sick and expect them to be healed? We need to get over the false humility thing and stop saying, “Lo, I am but a mere Christian, look not upon me, but look upon Jesus”, or, “Who am I, that the Lord would look upon me and use me?” That is Old Covenant thinking! You are the children of the King! God IS IN YOU, AND YOU ARE IN HIM! You are positionally seated in heavenly places! He gave you His Spirit, and His authority! You are the RE-PRESENTATION of Jesus on earth! Isaiah 60:1-3 says,
“Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.”

Did you notice that the only thing that doesn’t have anything to do with you in these eight lines you just read are “darkness”, and, “deep darkness”? The rest is all about you, you, you! We need to get over ourselves so that Christ can get in us and work through us. As we have read,

“And [the disciples] went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.” Mark 16:20

b) Now, let’s talk about sin.
“And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” 5:15,16
“Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” 5:19

Having dealt with their sickness first, you can then see if they want to take care of sin issues in their lives - you know, the stuff Paul described in Galatians 5, for example. Now, since the “confess your trespasses to one another” thing has been written about and talked about so much – and, please note, great observations have been made – I will simply say that you should do this as you see fit. What I want to focus on is the next statement James says: “that you may be healed”. As we have observed, the word “healed” does imply a physical cure, though we can also see that it has broader implications towards the soul.

Verse 19, “Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

We help each other walk out the life that is lead by the Spirit, as Paul taught so well in Romans 8. Not only that, but James 5:19 also compliments what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:31-32, the passage we dissected above:
“For if we would judge (διακρίνω diakrinō - ‘make distinction’) ourselves, we would not be judged (κρίνω krinō). But when we are judged (κρίνω krinō), we are chastened (‘corrected as a child’) by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.” 1 Cor 11:31-32

To conclude this point, let me repeat what I had said to begin it: The only thing that James points out is the practical outworking of dealing with each symptom. James addresses the coin – Sin - and explains how we handle each side; sickness, and living out of the flesh (to use Pauline language). Sickness is dealt with through the prayer of authority and confidence. Sin is dealt with confession and repentance (not the evangelical-style emotionally charged repentance, but the ‘change the way you think’ type of repentance).

Now here’s what you need to get: Once the person has dealt with the Sin coin – sickness or fleshly living, the believer is free to continue living a life led by the Spirit, free from Sin and it’s offspring. How?

3. Sowing and Reaping

I will be super short here. Seriously. What you reap, you sow. It is a universal law that God established. Just like the laws of physics. If you smoke cigarettes, you reap what you sow. If you only eat lard, pig fat, and chocolate, you will reap what you sow. If you constantly speak negatively over yourself, you will reap what you have sown. Get it? Great!

To be concluded in Part 2.