Is Disease Spiritual or Physical?..or both?

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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on May 10, 2010 at 1:01pm

Hey sis,

The reason for the frustration you guys are experiencing is due to something we find to be true among many biblical topics.

whenever Scripture gives us plenty of verses to back up two truth within one subject, yours being the origin of infirmities, then most folks instead of balancing all the scriptures dealing with the topic, go into one of the extremes and find themselves in such argumentative situations.

I am happy you guys are discussing such issues and even that you guys are getting frustrated with each other over it. You know why Brittney? Well this is the guy you will spend the rest of your life with, so is good that you guys learn how to deal with such frustrations and establish healthy communication patterns. Not only are you guys learning and discussing plus challenging one another (hopefully in a healthy manner), about important topics, but again learning how to deal with each other. I suggest you guys pray before venturing into hot topics and whenever needed throughout the verbal discussions. But I have digressed. 

The thing is that both of you are correct. There is enough evidence in scripture to show us that illness comes directly from demonic activity at times and as consequences of a sinful life style at other times as well. However that is not always true. A child who is borne blind to a faithful Christian family would attest that there are cases were we are hit with the consequences of living in a fallen world and in a body that is dying.
When dealing with any biblical topic is important that we study all scripture has to say about the topic and with the help of the Holy Spirit formed are conclusions.
So it is important to know what the cause of an illness is so we can pray for effectively, but not necessary.

Can God heal anyone of any illness regardless of the cause of the illness who stands on the word of God and believes?Yes, of course. Everything we encounter here on earth is no big deal for God to fix or renew.

Our faith in God not on our faith in our faith, but our faith in God is precious to our Lord. Here is what your fiancé is talking about. They believed that Jesus could do the healing and they were healed. I believe your fiancé is right at saying that our faith in God can bring about healing in our mental, emotional and physical state. Will God Always honor our prayers of faith – wow – this is the tough one to answer. Here is where the trouble is. Does God use such infirmities to accomplish certain things in our lives, of course, so if I am praying to Him with faith to be deliver from some illness, but a certain lesson has not yet been learned then what happens? God may not answer that prayer and place scriptures and servants to help you see what He is trying to get out of you and into you thought these difficult ordeals.

Mat 9:28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
Mat 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
Mat 9:30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.

Here is another way God healed a man:

Mar 8:22 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
Mar 8:23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
Mar 8:24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
Mar 8:25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

Here is another example of our Lord healing someone who had been borne blind:

Joh 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
Joh 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Joh 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Check out the manner in which He wants to heal this person is different than the others. He places a qualifier, something the person must do in order to show his faith in obedience and then the healing comes.

Joh 9:6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
Joh 9:7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

So there are multiple ways God can heal us if He so pleases. He is the God that gives and takes away. We have to be ok with that. This topic is extensive, very extensive and I could continue to write, but I am sure you wiil get more help from our family here.

Lord bless you and your fiancé sis. Keep learning how to communicate with him.

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Permalink Reply by Imperator on May 10, 2010 at 1:21pm

Hey Brits,

There are so many clever people on AAG that I'm sure you'll get your answers here. Here's mine....

As far as I understand it there are two kinds of illnesses, spiritual and physical. For example, one can be possessed or influenced by the devil and the physical is because of original sin. I'm sure you are aware that when Adam and Eve sinned, God placed a curse on creation where everything dies. So in the case of our physical body it can be because like you've mentioned your pancreas does not function properly. You cannot blame this on God.

Remember that there were phisicians even in Jesus' day and he didn't go around blaming them for curing people.

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Permalink Reply by roy ruser on December 13, 2010 at 7:49pm

hi Brittany

i like what has been suggested to you, God does heal, if "you" (the person who is ill, know God says to stand in faith and believe for a healing, do so, and don't waver) but at times God doesn't heal, example Joni Ericson, she wanted a healing, but God didn't heal her, He had a bigger picture in mind, she has an incredible ministry around the world reaching multitudes who are in her same condition, she's living proof of Gods sustaining grace, some times illness can be a good thing, this happened to me, i got bells palsy, it has the same symptoms as a heart attack, but with one difference, i don't know what it is, but here is the key God showed me, to start with, living in canada with free medical insurance so they tell us,  but it's not really true, we pay for it, in our taxes, we are taxed almost to death,  and it is pathetic, some go to the doctor or the  hospital emergency  every time they sneeze or cough, we have much abuse of the system, wait in emerge is about 7 hours, i presume, the U.S. is a bit better, as  i understand it cost out of pocket for the visit, another thing we do is run to the medicine cabinet, or the drug store, at the first sign of something, but our key as a believer in Jesus should be to pray, Lord what do i do? do i go to the doctor, they are not evil, or do i stand in faith for a healing? When i got the palsy, i was freaked out, God had me call the doctor, he told me i wasn't having a heart attack, and come and see him on monday morning, i ended up being laid up for 6 weeks with severe pain because of an earlier , whiplash from a car accident, this was very painful, but great as i got to read through the old testament along with doing other bible studies, at that time i read exceptionally slow, to long of a story to get into, another time i was working came home on friday night, after lifting boxes of flooring, my back started to hurt, the pain went to the middle of my back and all down my leg, it got so bad in order to go the bath room i had to roll off the couch it took about 10 minutes, saturday the same sunday morning, my friend and i had agreed a week earlier we were going to visit some old friends at another church, about a half hour drive, believe me i did not want to go, but i had agreed, so i drag myself in pain,  not quite as bad as saturday, we got to the church, as the worship started, God told me to dance, i did not want to, but in obedience i did, the worship leader stops the service, and says does anyone need prayer for healing my hand went up, along with others, a couple of people behind me prayed, the pain disappeared, and it's never come back, and i gave testimony to the entire church that day, so pray first, if repentance is necessary than repent, if standing against the devil is necessary, then stand strong in the name of Jesus, etc. Gods ways are far above our ways, and we as people often go to one extreme or the other, may i suggest go to God, as everyone is different, and only He knows each one of us, and what he wants to do in our lives, P.S. He is more then able to take care of us no matter how He choses, if you like let me know if this is helpful to you.

your bro. 

Roy Ruser

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Permalink Reply by Ann Mary Johnson on December 14, 2010 at 9:42am

dear sis,

The cause of your frustration or not areeing with your fiance is that you know what's going in your body biologically. you clearly know that you have a defective pancreas which will work poorly and as a result you have diabetis type-1. in bible we see diseases that caused due to sin, by demons and ofcourse with no sin and demons and irrespective of their cause jesus healed (ref.9:21)

i want you to carefully read the following ref.

¹ As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

   ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” - John 9 : 1-4

so in this world there is sickness.

i have question for you,

Do you belive that GOD can create a new pancreas in your body. if you do then be prepare to receive it.

God bless You

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Permalink Reply by Michael Vernon McEntire on December 15, 2010 at 12:59pm

Yes, Jesus healed; but He did not heal all of the sick in the world 1900 years ago, and He does not heal all of the sick in the world today, irrespective of faith.  Thank GOD for medicine! 

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Permalink Reply by Richard L. Broch, Sr. on January 10, 2011 at 2:11pm

Greetings to you, Brittany and your Sweetie.

 

Sorry I couldn`t have responded to your post earlier, but I just came surfing across it. But I see an initiall response from my Christian Brother David, who always gives good Biblical counsel. I agree with him that you both are correct in your thoughts. Please keep in mind that we don`t know the answers to some of these questions due to unknown varibles of God`s will and plans.

I have been involved a number of times praying, annointing, and laying on of hands with extremely ill Christians, and they recovered. However, others did not recover. I have no explanation why some do, and some don`t.

At any rate, let me list some Scripture references regarding Biblical experiences on this matter.

 

Recorded Initiator = Satan/demons,  Matthew 9:32,"As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a dumb man possessed with a devil."

                                                  Matthew 12:22,"Then was one brought to Him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw."  

                                                 Luke 13:11,"And behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years, and was bowed together, and in no wise lift herself up."

 

Possibly caused to self by homosexual relations = Romans 1:27,"And in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men commiting indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error." (Some commentators think this penalty is HIV). 

 

Sickness because of unknown reason = Philippians 2:25-27," But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; (26) because he was longing for you all and was distressed because  you had heard that he was sick. (27) For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy upon him, and not on him only but also on me, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow."   

 

Sickness/plague from God for various reasons = Genesis 19:11,"But they(two angels) struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway."

                                                              Numbers 16:41,49,"But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You are ones who have caused the death of the Lord`s people." (49) But those who died by the plague 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah."

                                                              Numbers 25:1-3,9,"While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. (2) For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.(3) So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel.(9) And those who died by the plague were 24,000."

                                                              2 Samuel 12:15b,18a,"Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah`s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick.(18a) Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died." ( This is the account of David and Bathsheba`s great sin).

                                                               John 9:1-3,"And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.(2) And His disciples asked Him, saying," Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?(3) Jesus answered, it was neither this man or his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him." ( What is very important to realize in this situation is that God caused this man to be born blind, so that years later Jesus could give him sight and God would receive the glory. Some Christians have a problem with this matter, because they say it was not right for the man to be blind all that time. But, we have to remember, this is God`s ballgame, and we`re just players in various positions. And how about Job? He was a righteous, Godly man who suffered severely, so God could  score a victory over Satan.).

                                                               Acts 12:23,"And immediately the Angel of the Lord smote him( Herod Agrippa), because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost."

 

Here`s a prophecy of Jesus` sacrifice about 700 years before the event - Isaish 53:4a, 5b, " (4a) Surely our sickness He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; (5b) And by His scourging we are healed.

After extensive study of this passage, this is my interpretation: Our Lord and Savior carried all sickness, disease , disabilities, grief, mental issues - past, present, and future to the cross, and nailed them there. I believe this is a future picture of Heaven because none of these will be there in eternal bliss. His healing includes both soul and body of a believer for that time ( John 3:16). However, I think that God gives us previews in this life from time to time to show us what is coming. That`s why we pray for people who are sick or injured.(See James 5:14-15). Faith is essential.

 

Now, Brittany, regarding your condition. Maybe Paul`s "Thorn in the flesh" might apply to you.????? Just a thought.....

2 Corinthians 12:8-9, "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. (9) And 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."  

 

My sincere hope is this might help you folks.

Grace and Peace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Permalink Reply by lazurm on January 15, 2011 at 9:59pm

We never may find God's motivations but He has allowed us to discover tools that help us to understand many of Satan's methods, methods of creating diseases by disrupting God's work. Depending on the illness, the best medical doctors are the ones most schooled in His methods of rejuvenation and the enhancement of life in fighting Satan on natural ground and, therefore, usually best equipped to handle the disease according to God's rules.

I suggest speaking to those most familiar with God's methods to fight the Satan born malady with the tools of God via God's disease interpreters, a doctor.

In the meantime, while a doctor is treating the natural causes of the disease, you can handle the supernatural, spirit derived aspects and pray with all your heart, day and night, that Satan's hand will be swiped by men who have learned God's techniques and by God Himself who listened to your prayers.

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