Why do people get sick?

by Jim Bramlett

Really, why do people get sick?
 
Answer:  Sickness is a curse the human race brought upon itself that began when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.  The curse is passed down from generation to generation, even getting into our gene and DNA structure.
 
The curse of sickness is reiterated and codified as a penalty for disobeying the Law of Moses in Deuteronomy 28:58-61.

Sickness can be self-induced, such as by abuse of the body, or it can be transmitted by others.
 
Not only individuals, but society is greatly suffering from this curse.  The financial burden of healthcare is crippling European countries and now the U.S.  As described below, God has given provision for our health and healing, but in everything government wants to take the place of God.  When this happens, everyone suffers.
 
The curse is so bad that doctors themselves are the third leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
 
Thankfully, for born-again believers, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (Galatians 3:13).  Born-again believers are no longer under the curse.  That is great news!
 
However, if born-again believers are no longer under the curse, why do they sometimes get sick? 
 

The one main reason Christians get sick
 

The New Testament only gives one reason why believers get sick -- only one!
 
It says, “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep” (die prematurely) (1 Corinthians 11:30).
 
For this reason: Singular, not plural.  One reason.  It does not say, “For these reasons…”
 
What is that one reason? 
 
Here it is, referring to what we today call the Sacrament of Holy Communion, also called the Lord’s Supper, or as referred to by Catholics as the Eucharist: 

"He who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lords body.  For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep (die prematurely)" (v. 29-30).

Traditionally, the phrase “unworthy manner” has been interpreted to mean any sin in one’s life.  But since no one is sinless, that cannot be true.  No one is really worthy apart from God’s grace and Christ’s imputed righteousness.  That view would mean no one would ever take communion!  Tradition has turned into a curse what was intended by God to be a blessing.  Tradition often does that.  Communion is for sinners!
 
Then what does it mean?
 
Typically, Scripture clarifies itself.  Not discerning the Lord’s body means just that.  It means taking the elements (bread and wine, or juice) without discerning that it is really the body of the Lord.  Just like He said, “This is my body.”
 
Forget man’s doctrines. God makes it simple for us.  All we have to do is to simply believe Jesus’ words, “This is my body.”  He did not say, This is symbolic of my body.  And He said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood” (v.25).  He did not say, “This cup is symbolic of my blood.”  A key step in receiving your healing is to simply believe what Jesus said.  It could not be easier!
 

The profound pause

 
Pastor Joseph Prince points out that after the words, “Take eat,” there is a pause (colon or semi-colon), however slight, and then Jesus says, “This is my body.”  Before we eat it, it is not His body.  But then when we ingest and swallow it, it becomes His body.  At that point, the powerful, perfect, healthy body of the Son of God miraculously becomes a part of our own bodies!  His perfect body cannot coexist with sickness.  He already gave us His Spirit; here He literally gives us His body!  He says, “Take it!”
 
Realizing that, and believing that, is discerning the Lords body.  Rejecting that, or treating it in a trivial, ritualistic manner, is not discerning the Lord’s body, which will make you weak, sick, or die prematurely, God says. 
 
The reverse of that is obvious: If we do discern the Lord’s body, we will not be weak, sick, or die prematurely.  We will be strong, healthy, and with a long life. 
 
Yes, this is incomprehensible to the human, natural mind.  It is supernatural, but nevertheless real.  As with all spiritual truth, we take it by faith.  Faith reaches out beyond our carnal minds and embraces God and His truths. 
 

The first communion

 
There is a more biblical reason to believe that the act of communion and discerning the Lord’s body will heal us.
 
The very first communion as we know it today was initiated on the night Jesus was betrayed, during the Passover meal (Matthew 26:26-28). 
 
Centuries earlier, the very first Passover meal in Egypt is described in Exodus chapter 12.   Note that the lamb that was sacrificed for the blood that was put on their doorposts, and then it had to be eaten.  The lamb represented the coming Messiah, the Lamb of God, who would be sacrificed for our sins.  The lamb’s blood and body represented the blood and body of Christ, today represented in the communion as bread and wine (or juice).  Also, the lamb had to be roasted, representing the fire of God’s judgment that fell on Jesus for our sakes.  They all ate the roasted lamb.
 
We learn that when they came out of Egypt, there was not one feeble person among them (Psalm 105:37).  That included 600,000 men plus families -- maybe 3-4 million or more -- of all ages.  After eating the Passover lamb, not one person was sick or feeble!  That was a miracle.
 
The bread in our communion services is the equivalent of that roasted lamb.  Both are His body.  Both bring healing and health.
 

The curse reversed
 

It is fascinating that the millennia-long curse that originally came upon the whole human race was caused by the simple act of eating when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.
 
Now the curse is reversed also by the simple act of eating -- eating the body of Christ, who became a curse for us.
 
The curse came and the curse reversed, both by the simple act of eating something.  Amazing!
 
Do not treat the body and blood of the Lord at communion as trivial or just symbolic or ritualistic.  It could cost you your life.
 

Miraculous testimonies
 

Pastor Prince describes several instances of miraculous healings following communion.  He cites two people who were on their death beds in the hospital when loved ones brought the elements and served communion to them.  Both miraculously recovered.
 
In another instance, an acquaintance of his was dying of liver cancer when friends served him communion in the hospital.  It was discovered later that at the very same instant, a lab technician in another part of the hospital was looking at his cancer cells under a microscope. While observing the cancer cells, those cells suddenly died right before the technician’s eyes at the same moment the communion was being taken!
 
If you are sick and you take communion, discerning the Lord's body, I believe you will get well.
 
If you are not sick and take communion, discerning the Lord’s body, I believe you will stay well.
 
Do you believe it?

 
How often, and what?
 

How often should we take communion?  Some churches do it monthly or less.  Some do it weekly or more.  Pastor Prince points out that nowhere in the Bible does it command a certain time frame.  However, now that we have learned how important it is, it should motivate us to do it more often.  My wife and I have decided to try to do it every day, usually before dinner.  It is not a legalistic thing, and we may miss days, but it is just a personal desire and goal.  You do not have to be in church to do this.
 
The Lord probably accepts any kind of bread or juice.  I have even heard of potato chips and cola being used in an emergency, and the wheelchair-bound person was instantly healed and walked!  However, I would recommend grape juice.  For bread, any kind will do, but our preference is unleavened Jewish Matzo crackers found in the kosher section of most major grocery stores.  That is because the crackers are burnt, have stripes on them, and holes in them, all symbolic of Jesus suffering the fire of God’s judgment for us, His stripes for our healing, and the holes on His feet, hands, side, and head for our transgressions.  Of course, Jews do not understand that, but someday they will.
 

Let me say it again, another way:

 
Some of Jesus’ words are totally radical, and incomprehensible to the natural mind.  Do you really understand these words of His?

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6, NKJV).

 If we do not eat His flesh and drink His blood, we have no life in us!  If we do, we will be raised up, we abide in Him, and He in us.
 
How strange!  And how can this be literally true?  Jesus’ body died, was resurrected, and ascended into heaven.  How can we eat His flesh and drink His blood now?  He ain’t here physically no mo’.  Besides, we are not cannibals.
 
The above passage is a great mystery even to most Christians.  Because in unbelief most of the church today avoids reference to anything supernatural, it is usually assumed that eating His flesh and drinking His blood means just “believing” in Him.  But if true, why didn’t He just say, “He who believes in me…” as He did elsewhere? 
 
There must be great meaning here.  We know that nothing in God’s Word is by accident.  Those words are there for a reason.  I believe the reason is clear, and profound.
 
The explanation is that today we can, indeed, eat His flesh and drink His blood, literally.  In fact, He commands us to do so!
 
As mentioned. at His last Passover meal, describing what we now call the Holy Communion, Jesus gave the disciples bread and said, “Take, eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26).  He did not say, “This is symbolic of my body.”
 
Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant.”  He did not say, “This is symbolic of my blood.”
 
Forget what man’s doctrines, Protestant or Catholic, may say about this subject.  Just simply believe what Jesus said.
 
When we partake of Holy Communion, if we believe that it is really His body and really His blood, that is called “discerning the Lord’s body.” 
 
What happens if we do not discern the Lord’s body?
 
“For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep” (1 Corinthians 11:30).
 
Therefore, it is vitally important to “discern the Lord’s body,” so we will not be weak, sick, or die prematurely.
 

Warning!
 

Communion is for believers only.  Do not partake of it unless you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ.  If you do, I do not know what will happen.  At best it will be of no benefit, and at worst, it could be dangerous.

Notes

 
Thanks to Pastor Joseph Prince of New Creation Church in Singapore whose revelation provided most of the above material.  See www.josephprince.org.
 
For more information on how to receive God’s healing power, see my essay at http://www.choicesforliving.com/spirit/part4/healing.htm.  This essay explains why healing is always Gods perfect will.
 
Jim