Healing
Notes
Transcript
What was God’s plan?
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
What is the cause of sickness?
In the beginning, we have a Garden and in this Garden, He created Adam and Eve and He says
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
The Hebrew word for subdue means to bring into bondage in that they have control and power over it
the word rule means that you have power and control over
So, God gives them power and authority over the earth
But, that power and authority came in connection with Him, being made in His image
A couple chapters later we see that they hand over their power and authority to the enemy
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
enmity means “personal hostility”
16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
From this moment on, things suddenly became worse…
Cain kills his brother Abel
And this continues a downward spiral until the flood
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.
So, the earth is corrupted. We don’t exactly know all of the ins and outs of everything, but somehow during all of this corruption, the enemy, Satan, gains control of the world.
We know this from NT scriptures:
Jesus says
31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
So, Jesus refers to the enemy as a prince, notice not the king, in that he has rule over the earth
Paul says:
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
So, the enemy is referred to as the “god” lower case “g” of this age…who is blinding unbelievers
And, in:
2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
the enemy is the ruler of the kingdom of the air…
We also have a couple of instances where God’s promise was not for His people to have sickness and disease.
15 The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.
26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”
Finally, we know God’s final plan is not for sickness and disease
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
So, most theologians, if not all, believe that sickness and disease was not part of God’s plan from the beginning.
So, where does it come from?
Most believe it from the work of the enemy.
When the fall happened, all of creation was distorted.
And slowly, sickness and disease crept in.
As we move forward, we will break down some more questions about sickness.
8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
Jesus came to destroy the work of the enemy… and He still is!
When Jesus came, He brought the kingdom of heaven, meaning we have access to the kingdom.
