The Chastening of God

I recently posted on Facebook that God WILL NOT make you sick to chasten you and that anyone who teaches that is repeating a lie straight from the pit of hell.

Yep, I said it!

Indeed, I am rather surprised that this statement did not get more traction than it did. I believe this is a revelation that will cause religious shackles to fall of the hearts and minds of all who receive it!

Strong words, for sure, but words of necessity. You see the church has been bound by a doctrine that suggests that God is the architect of illness and that He afflicts His children to chasten them. There are many scriptures proffered in support of that theory, chief of which is the following:

⁷And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. ⁹And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  ¹⁰Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-1)

Now, we must first understand that Paul referred to himself as a Pharisee (Acts 26:5, Philippians 3:5). He was well schooled in the law, having studied at the feet of Gamaliel. Before his encounter with the risen Jesus, I posit that the former Saul of Tarsus was quite proud of his educational accomplishments. Perhaps God dealt with Paul to keep him from being puffed-up in the knowledge of the Kingdom of God as He was in his knowledge of the law.

Now, I’ll admit, that’s speculation and can be considered Eisegesis. However, we can glean something concrete from the text that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a messenger of satan to sent buffet him. A disease or an infirmity is not a messenger. This passage is referring to a sprit being that satan unleashed to impede Paul’s progress in spreading the Gospel. Furthermore, when Paul spoke of infirmities in verse 10, he was simply saying that whatever he had to endure for the Gospel’s sake, he was willing to take.

This is Paul’s testimony, saint, not yours! But I digress.

John 10:10 states that, “the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.” Who is the thief? Why, the devil, of course; that is his mission. When something comes about that steals from you or tries to kill you or tries to destroy your life, you can be sure that this is the devil and that God is far from it. Indeed, Jesus identifies his role in the life of the believer in the same passage of scripture, stating that, “I am come that they may have life more abundantly.

Now, my first question to the reader is, “Is there anything abundant about sickness or bodily affliction?”

I’ll help you out: NO!

If you are a born again, washed in the Blood believer, you are an heir to the promises of Abraham and have an earnest expectation of long, healthy life.

⁷And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. ⁸Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. (Genesis 25:7-8)

Let’s face it, pain and suffering is stressful and certainly not conducive to long life. Further, it is not the will of God that His children, the saints, go through life this way. I’ve posed this question many times but it begs to be asked again in this context, would you, a parent, afflict your child with so much as a tummy-ache to get them to behave properly? I believe the answer to that is “NO!” And if God is a better parent than any of us could aspire to be, why would He do such a thing? The answer is, He will not!

Psalm 103:3 Puts it thusly:

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.

What part of ALL is unclear, here? God heals – period!

For the icing on the cake, let’s take a look at Jesus. Matthew 4:24 and 8:15, and Luke 6:19, all clearly state that Jesus healed all who come to them. It is interesting to note that these people whom He healed were Old Covenant saints – they had neither the risen Christ nor the Holy Spirit! BUT YOU DO!

Another good question is, how many people did Jesus make sick during His earthly ministry? Again, the answer is clearly NONE! According to John 5:19,

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

Then, If Jesus only healed folks and made none sick (and certainly didn’t kill anyone), and He only did what He saw the Father do, this means God makes no one sick! But let’s take it a step further, If God did, indeed, make some sick and Jesus healed them, that would make Jesus’ actions contrary to the will of God, right?

When will the Body of Christ acknowledge that bodily healing is available for all believers? I’m tired of this weak-kneed, so-called “Christianity” that teaches that sickness somehow emanates from God. What part of “Jesus healed them all” (Matthew 12:15) are we missing?

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, ALL means ALL, y’all!

I like how God revealed this to Isaiah:

But he was wounded for ourtransgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

Note two things:

First, God said the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, that is, Jesus. This means the punishment we deserved was laid squarely on Jesus. Once we are saved and in Christ, the affliction we deserved is no longer reserved for us. Glory to God! Now this chastisement actually extends beyond the believer in that God is no longer making corporate judgments as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah. The plagues, weather phenomena, and acts of terrorism emanate from satan, not God! Yes, God did these sorts of things in the Old Testament, but they are conspicuously absent from the New Testament!

Second, the stripes (the beating, scourging, and scorning) laid upon Jesus were the payment for the health and healing of the believer! Again, those who are in Christ have the earnest expectation that the God who saved them from eternal death can save them from earthy disease, plague, and disability!

God chastens His children with His Word. This is explained in 2 Timothy 3:16:

All scriptureis given by inspiration of God, and is profitable fordoctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

And again in 2 Timothy 4:2

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

Correction for the believer is from the Word of God, not sickness! Man, this is a revelation!

The difference between capability and manifestation is potential. God has given us awesome capability but we have to get a revelation from Him for our potential to be revealed. The Body of Christ frequently operates beneath privilege because purpose is unknown to most of us.

I stand firmly behind my original premise. Any teaching that discounts healing or, worse, supposes that God is the architect of sickness is a perverted Gospel. I will teach this faithfully until the Holy Spirit releases me from it. Be healed. Be set free. In Jesus’ name!

© 2010 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)