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Positive Words Newsletter
#119 -- 11th Jul 2006
Teaching the liberating truth of the new creation in Christ
----- http://www.peterwade.com/ -----
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Many Are Weak and Sick
"For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep [have died]" (I Corinthians 11:30 NKJV). "That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died" (ESV). It doesn't take a genius to see that things have not changed that much from the first century. Today, in spite of 100 years of Pentecostalism and some 50 years of the charismatic movement, "many are weak and sick" in the church. We therefore must spend some time on understanding this verse.
Since the verse commences with the word "for", let's get the context: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged" (verses 28-31).
The one other verse that comes to mind as to why people are sick and remain sick, is when it is recorded of the visit of Jesus to his home town Nazareth, "And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief" (Matthew 13:58). "There's no relief in unbelief!" So while some will dissect God's healing promises to the minute detail, we find just two reasons given why sickness abounds when healing is available: unbelief and unworthily partaking of the Lord's Supper. The root cause is Satan, as always. As E.W. Kenyon so wisely wrote, there is a committee of three involved in your case: God, Satan and you. And you have the casting vote, for God's will is clear and Satan's will is clear. So whose side will you vote for?
Regarding the "unworthily" (KJV) of verse 28, Albert Barnes notes that "Most persons interpret it as if it were 'unworthy,' and not 'unworthily,' and seem to suppose that it refers to their personal qualifications, to their 'unfitness' to partake of it, rather than to the manner in which it is done. It is to be remembered, therefore. that the word used here is an 'adverb,' and not an 'adjective,' and has reference to the manner of observing the ordinance, and not to their personal qualifications or fitness."
The divine commentary on "unworthily" is given in verse 29: "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself." So a lack of discernment is the reason why Christians are sick and some die prematurely. This verse goes from the specifics of the Corinthian church to the principles of the universal church. Yet we must ask, discernment of what -- the physical body of Christ or the universal body of Christ, the Church? No doubt there is a case for either interpretation, or even both.
There is no question that according to Isaiah, Matthew and Peter, Jesus gave His body for our sins and our sickness. Bodily healing is in the atonement. We've covered this ground in previous newsletters. I've seen people healed as they partook of the elements of the Lord's Supper. As a pastor I constantly encouraged believers to focus their attention on Jesus and look for healing because of His stripes.
Yet on the other hand there is a strong case to made for "the body" to refer to the church, and particularly to how it is made up. In this context I am referring to the church as an organism and not an organisation. The organism is the relationships that are in place between each believer and the commonality that exists because Christ is the Head. If our relationships are not right as brothers and sisters in the family of God, then there is "judgment" on us. Let me explain further.
In the 1950s and 1960s, it was said that over 90% of all sickness was psychosomatic; that is, we think ourselves sick! And the rest we brought on with our knives and forks; that is, our diet and lifestyle made us sick. Now, fifty years later, the figures need to be adjusted, because so many have brought sickness of themselves because of obesity brought about by fast foods, sugary drinks and an unbalanced diet. Yet the psychosomatic problems remain. Mostly these have to do with our reactions to others; how they treat us, what they say about us, what we would like to say to them if we got the chance!
I've often quoted the poem, "To live above with saints we love, Will certainly be glory! To live below with saints we know -- Well, that's another story!" Long-suffering is not something we practice with ease. "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:1-3 NKJV).
I have run out of space. You can, however, listen online to a teaching on "Many Are Weak and Sick". You'll find it in our Streaming Audio section. Click on Peter Wade and then on Single Teachings, and it is the last one in the list (in two parts). Listen, learn, practice! -- Peter Wade
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