August 2019
There is a doctrine that runs through many Christian circles that teaches that the apostle Paul suffered from an illness, from which God did not want to deliver him, taking the passage from 2 Corinthians 12 as the text to teach this doctrine.
I invite you to see what we find in the Word of God.
Paul writes… 2Co 12:7-10 By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively. Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me. He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me. Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.
Saying that "thorn in the flesh" is a disease is a whimsical interpretation of that passage, and I rely on these following Biblical passages, you read them and ask the Lord for your guidance...
In the following passage, Paul writes how that messenger of Satan manifests in his life ... Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong. (That doesn't sound like illness)
The book of Acts of the Apostles covers at least 15 years of the apostle Paul's ministry, in which he narrates a number of problems in which Paul was involved, but never mentions any illness.
Paul himself narrates his confrontations, when compared with others so-called apostles...
2Co 11:23-28 Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I am more so; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths often. Five times from the Jews I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I have been a night and a day in the deep. I have been in travels often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from my countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brothers; in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness. Besides those things that are outside, there is that which presses on me daily: anxiety for all the assemblies.
I am sure that after being whipped, beaten, stoned, with multiple sleeplessness, hunger and thirst, he needed rest and recovery for his body, however he does not mention at all the fact of having become sick from having gone through all those difficulties. We can imagine that once he was stoned, at least a few bumps & cuts remained on his head & body, and they stopped stoning him because they thought he was already dead. Act 14:19 And Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, who, having persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, they drew him out of the city, supposing him to have died.
What stands out is that the biggest problem that Paul faced all his life was "persecution", and ended his life in prison and was sent to be executed in Rome by Emperor Nero. Hence, it is more logical to think that when Paul spoke of Satan's messenger slapping him, he was referring to the persecutions he frequently faced.
There is no narration in the entire New Testament that tells of any Apostle of the Bible ever getting sick. And says James, the Lord's brother in his epistle... 5:14-16 Is any sick among you? 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 cure the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. And if he has committed sins, it will be forgiven him. Confess faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous one avails much. (That is, diseases should not be tolerated in the congregation, but the sick should be healed with the prayer of faith. And note that the elders were not expected to be the ones sick, but those new in the faith, the elders faced illness with the prayer of FAITH; Faith in what? That if we believe, we can move mountains, whatever mountain, diseases, problems, etc.)
That does not mean that Christians do not face disease. We are in a fallen world and we face all kinds of dangers in this world just like the unbelievers of the world, with the great difference that Col 1:13-14 For He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son; in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins.
I have been learning a lot about how to deal with diseases from a Biblical point of view.
The Spirit of God in us gives us authority over all disease. Let's see how Jesus put it...
Mat 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, all authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth. Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen. (That is, Jesus didn’t leave & went up to Heaven and took all his authority with Him, no, He is with us with ALL HIS AUTHORITY through the Holy Spirit).
Question: ... and Jesus… is He with you? If you are a Christian the answer is yes, then, has Jesus lost any authority now that He is seated at the right hand of God the Father? NO AND NO!!! Then His authority is with us to... Luke 4:39 And standing over her, He rebuked the fever. And it left her. And immediately she arose and served them. In other words, Jesus spoke to the fever and rebuked it and the fever left.
Jesus Himself is dwelling within us. He also gave us the use of His Name, Jn 14:13-14… We have the name of Jesus. 2Co 4:6-7 For it is God who said, "Out of darkness Light shall shine;" who shone in our hearts to give the brightness of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us;
In other words, when we accept Jesus as Lord of our lives... I put those points so that we meditate on the greatness of what we have just read ... It is hard to put in our heads the greatness, the power, the power of the light of God, & we have to believe it by faith. It is GOD Himself who shines in our bodies whom the apostle calls "vessels of clay", since our physical body has many limitations & limited time, but God fills our being with His Light & we need to understand that it’s not of us, but that we all the Glory belongs to God that is now in us. 2Co 4:16-18 For this cause we do not faint; but though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For the lightness of our present affliction works out for us a far more excellent eternal weight of glory, WE NOT CONSIDERING THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN, BUT THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN; FOR THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN ARE NOT LASTING, BUT THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN ARE EVERLASTING.
We might ask ourselves: What things do we look at that are not seen? What else could it be that the Word of God, his Promises are there and although most of the time we may not seen them materialize immediately with our carnal eyes, with our spiritual eyes can see them being materialize in the near future. It is natural for our physical senses to perceive the physical world around us, for example, problems, diseases, difficulties, deficiencies and all these situations & things tell us about the physical world surrounding us. However we must direct our spiritual eyes to the realities the Word of God tells us about, which assures us about a different reality, one that our physical eyes cannot see, that's why the Word of God says that we who have been born again in Christ, walk by Faith and not by sight.
God is greater than the problem or the disease and Jesus has given us the authority to dominate them, He is our Shepherd, we lack nothing, and He took on himself, not only our sins, but also our diseases, to free us from all that , and it works in our life when we believe it.
We never witness to someone about of salvation like this: Ask Jesus to come into your heart & confess him as Lord, to see if it is his will that you be saved & if so you will then be saved; Right? We say ... if you confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED. Rom 10: 9-10, right? Why then question whether it is God's will to heal the sick? When we pray ... if God wants it & if it is His will that you will be healed, then you will be! The answer to that prayer would certainly be NO!
Jas 1:6-7 But let him ask in faith, DOUBTING NOTHING. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For do not let that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord;
The Salvation of God is a complete package.
Isa 53:4-5 Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was on Him; and with His stripes we ourselves are healed.
Mat 8:16-17 And evening coming on, they brought to Him many who had been possessed with demons. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, "He took on Himself our weaknesses and bore our sicknesses."
1Pe 2:24 He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that dying to sins, we might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.
Can you see it? Jesus not only bore our sins in the Cross, but He certainly bore our sicknesses TOO on his Stripes! If you are a believer of the Scriptures, then asking for healing is just like asking for salvation, they are both prayers: If you believe in your heart that Jesus carried our sins in his body on the cross and that by his stripes you have been healed, then we have to confess both with our mouth, & we know that we already have it even if it has not been manifested in our physical body in that very moment, because it is by FAITH.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN.
Mar 11:22-23 And answering Jesus said to them, Have faith of God. For truly I say to you that whoever shall say to this mountain, Be moved and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he said shall occur, he shall have whatever he said.
“he shall have” is future but it is TRUE that it will be done for those who believe it in their heart.
Jn 14:12-14 Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes on Me, the works that I do he shall do also, and greater works than these he shall do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you may ask in My name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
How did the disciples pray in the book of Acts? Some examples… Act 3:2-9 And a certain man, who was lame from his mother's womb, was being carried. And they laid him daily at that temple gate which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered into the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And fastening his eyes on him, Peter with John said, Look on us! And he paid heed to them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! And taking him by the right hand, he lifted him up. And immediately his feet and ankle-bones received strength. And leaping up, he stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
Neither Peter nor John asked God in prayer for the paralytic, they simply ordered him to walk and he walked. All the healings of Jesus and of Jesus' disciples in the Bible were like this, they ordered evil spirits and diseases to come out, and evil spirits and diseases obeyed. Act 9:33-34 And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had lain eight years on a mattress, paralyzed. And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you; rise up and spread for yourself! And he arose immediately.
Act 14:8 And a certain man was sitting in Lystra, without strength in the feet, being lame from his mother's womb, who never had walked. This one heard Paul speaking; and Paul, looking intently at him, and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Stand up on your feet! And he leaped and walked.
Jesus said…
Jn 10:9-11 I am the door. If anyone enters in by Me, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Who can the “thief” be but the Devil? The thief does not come except to steal & to kill & to destroy… in Heb 2:14-15 Since then the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise partook of the same; that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death (that is, the Devil), and deliver those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Obviously those who do not come to Christ remain under the power of darkness.
2Co 4:3-4 But also if our gospel is hidden, it is hidden to those being lost, in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving ones, so that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ (who is the image of God) should not dawn on them.
Act 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and He went about doing good, and healing all those who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him.
There we see that it is the devil who causes disease, but… 1Jn 3:8 He who practices sin is of the Devil, for the Devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, that He might undo the works of the Devil.
I hope these passages help you see what the Bible says about "diseases." Claim your healing by trusting in the Word of God, as well as you can do when you pray for your needs by Faith... Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
And even if you don't see or feel your healing right away, continue to confess your healing daily & out loud, & with 100% security that it will come true. On the contrary if you say: I feel sick, I have this and that: Then that is how it will be. You will have what you say!
Pro 18:20-21A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; he shall be satisfied with the product of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it shall eat the fruit of it.
I do appreciate if you leave your comments down below, or if you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
Love in Jesus… Alejandro
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