The Origins of Illness
Luke 13:10-17
The second sermon in the series Authority to heal is entitled “The Origins of Illness”. Click here to listen to the sermon (right-click to save it to disc, or ctrl-click on the Mac). Next sermon
Notes
Understanding the origins or causes of illness is vital if we are to exercise an effective healing ministry. We need an adequate theological framework not only to be able to discern why it is that people for whom we pray are experiencing suffering, but also to understand God’s perspective on sickness and disease.
There are at least four broad causes of sickness:
Life in a fallen world
Sickness and disease have no part at all to play in God’s perfect Creation.
Gen 1:31: When God made the world it was perfect in every way.
Rev 21:4: The Bible ends with the prospect of a restored Creation in which there is neither suffering nor death.
But God’s perfect Creation suffered a traumatic blow when humankind, the authoritative stewards of that Creation, rebelled and fell away. Everything is spoiled and disturbed by the ingress of sin.
Romans 8:18-25
Paul describes not only our personal experience of suffering but also that experienced by the whole of Creation as one of frustration. God’s perfect purposes have been frustrated by sin and the Fall. The world in which we live is now in bondage to decay (v21). Decay is written in to the make-up of the world order.
1 Cor. 15:42-44
Immortality is replaced by mortality. We are all going to die one day and nothing will happen in this age to reverse such a state of things.
The catastrophic explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the mid 1980’s still has consequences today as people live with the effects of radioactive pollution. There is something of a randomness about the way in which people are affected by the fallout from that event. There is a similar randomness about the consequences of the Fall, and an ‘unpredictability’ or randomness as to who contracts disease.
In praying for people we must understand that God is not going to reverse our mortality in this age. We are not praying that people will forever avoid death (the final defeat of death belongs to the age to come).
We must also understand that the mere experience of sickness does not automatically imply that the sufferer has been especially sinful and thus singled out by God for special treatment!
Furthermore, sickness and death function as symptoms of a disease, to alert us to serious nature of our position with God. The experience of sickness should remind us that we suffer from a more serious underlying problem; we need to be right with God.
But... God does heal in present as sign that all effects of sin and the Fall have been undone by Christ on the Cross and that in him God’s end-time Kingdom and rule have broken into the present (more of this in sermon 3).
So, we pray in the light of our unavoidable mortality (Phil 1:21-4) but also in the light of the triumph of Christ.
The sin of others
Not unrelated to the above.
Much ‘disease’ especially emotional is caused by being sinned against. Such disease may be caused by:
Abuse or hurt (we live with the effects of what others have done to us)
Conflict (we are bruised by the experience of difficult relationships)
Lack of necessary affirmation (we all need to know that we are valued for who we are and not simply for what we can do or achieve)
Stunted growth (often the result of domination by another, inadequate parenting for whatever reason)
In 2 Corinthians 1:8, 4:8ff Paul describes his own experiences of difficulty.
God is in the business of healing us from the effects of the sin of others (cf. 2 Cor. 1:4, 10).
Note that we cannot stop others from sinning against us,
Persecution etc. is our lot. God will not in this age keep us from it, but he will strengthen us to endure it and heal us from its negative effects.
The ministry of Jesus was often to those excluded by others, those who felt that they had no hope. He comes to restore dignity and the sense of God’s affirmation, to comfort the comfortless.
In praying for others we will want to explore any relevant information in their background which may contribute to their present experience of suffering. Some people are so haunted by their past experiences, or, wrongly, take personal responsibility for their own experience of being abused, that they have tried to blot out the memories.
Direct or specific demonic attack
Jesus seems to discern the hand of Satan in much sickness. One translation of Mark 1:42 has Jesus filled with anger, not at the leper himself, but at the work of Satan in disfiguring and demeaning this Son of God.
Luke 13:16: Satan has kept this woman bound. It is not clear here whether or not Jesus is referring to illness generally or to a specific and personal) attack on this woman.
Some sicknesses are identified as being caused by a spirit (Mark 9).
It is important to be aware that some conditions are as a result of a specific demonic attack on a person, but we must beware of ‘putting things on’ people, wrongly ascribing any and every disease to a demonic source and thus causing unnecessary emotional suffering.
Such demonic attack may be for no particular reason, or may come about because of a curse, a generational spirit, through having had some involvement in occult activity or some alternative therapies which ‘tap in’ to spiritual power sources.
In such cases, Jesus rebukes sickness or addresses directly the spirit which has caused this sickness. We too, at times, need to take his authority over disease.
Often it is appropriate to pray for the sick, asking God to heal them. Sometimes it is more appropriate to rebuke the specific condition or the spirit which is responsible for causing it. We do this not because of any power inherent in us (we have none) but in the name and by the authority of Jesus.
Sometimes God does seem to permit people to bear sickness and the attack of the evil one for some greater good to come from it. God himself is not, however, credited in these instances with bringing disease to people.
The experience of Job seems to fit in with this. Note that Job’s illnesses were not life-threatening.
2 Co.r 12: Paul’s thorn in the flesh. This is probably not a reference to physical sickness, but is evidence that God is more concerned about our spiritual well-being and our holiness than He is about our physical emotional or mental comfort for its own sake. However, Paul’s was an extreme case... and few of us have had similar intense spiritual revelations such that we need to be kept from spiritual pride!
Nevertheless, Paul still prays for it to be taken away and continues to do so until God tells him otherwise. In both these situations, we find extreme conditions and exceptional closeness to God. It is rare for God to need to go to such lengths.
Personal sin
There is more than a hint in Scripture that wilful and deliberate sin may be a cause of disease.
John 5: Jesus’ final injunction to the healed man to “sin no more that nothing worse might befall you” might imply that his condition was due to his own sin.
1 Cor. 11:30: Paul insists that it was the gluttony and other failings of the Corinthians that had led to a number of them falling ill and dying prematurely. Is this a reference to God’s judgment or a warning against the physical consequences of poor lifestyle choices?
Acts 5: the death of Annas and Sapphira is clearly a result of their blatant sin.
Much emotional harm is caused by personal sin, for example addiction.
Bitterness and other negative emotions poison us and destroy our emotional health. Unforgiveness and bitterness may well be barriers to receiving healing and restoration.
In praying for people who are living with consequences of their own sin we need to lead them into repentance.
Footnote
If causes of disease are various, God’s solution is total.
Rev 22:3: not only is there full healing in God’s new age but the curse of sin is turned back for all eternity.
Sermons on healing
The Origins of Illness (this sermon)
See also
