Origin of Sickness
.... Sickness came into world through the fall of man, which brought the creation into a fallen state as well (Rom 8:20). Therefore, indirectly, sickness came into this world through the devil, but in a much more direct sense it is in the world because of man (as in 1 Cor 15:21).
.... Throughout the Old and New Testaments sickness is mentioned frequently, and on some rare occasions it is mentioned as a result of the devil’s work (Job 2:7; Luke 13:11). But this is usually not the case, and there is never an example at all in which a Christian received an illness as a result of the devil:
.... "We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him."
(1 Jn 5:18)
.... "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love."
(Col 1:13)
.... Christians may still have illness in their lives, simply because illness is in the world and so are we. It does not imply the work of the devil, nor even the presence of sin. In fact, let’s consider the case of Epaphroditus in which we actually see the opposite:
.... "For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me."
(Phil 2:27-30)
.... In this case, sickness was found in the context of one who served God with tenacious loyalty and love. So when sickness occurs among Christians, it is not necessarily an indictment of anyone’s spiritual condition. And this is generally true (though not always) when sickness occurs in non-Christians, as well (see John 5:14).
posted by loren @ 4:20 PM
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