Chronically-ill Christians who do not believe in spiritual
healing of the sick today should examine their participation in Holy
Communion as to why they remain sick.
The Lord's Supper (Eucharist or Holy Communion according
to your tradition) consists of two elements: The cup representing Jesus' shed blood, and the bread representing His broken body (I Corinthians 11:23-26).
Traditional doctrine teaches us that the Lord's Supper is
to keep us mindful that, as Christians, we are part of the
Body of Christ, that we are one in Christ through the
Gospel (I Corinthians 15:1-4), and that He shed His blood
for atonement of sin, and rightfully so.
But Paul had grave concern for something more in partaking the Lord's Supper that was killing his brethren. It lies at the very root of God's Scheme of Redemption, which is inclusive of healing body, spirit, and soul (salvation).
Paul states that the lack of discernment of the Lord's body
(I Corinthians 11:29) is cause for damnation and is why many
of us are sick today. The Greek word for body (soma) literally
refers to the physical fleshly body of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, by His perfect life, sacrificed His body for our healing and blood for atonement of our sins. These two realities both occur on the Cross.
Through the shedding of His blood, Jesus redeemed us
from the curse of the law of sin and death (Galatians 3:13).
But the broken body of Jesus is not for the forgiveness of
sin--It is for healing to be made possible. For without His
broken body, there could be no healing of any kind
(Romans 11:36; Colossians 1:15-18), either before or after
the Cross. This is where many Christians lack discernment.
It is through His shed blood that we find forgiveness, not His
broken body (Hebrews 9:22; Leviticus 17:11). And it is
through His stripes (His suffering and torment in the flesh)
that we are healed today (Isaiah 53:5; I Peter 2:24).
With this understanding in mind, consider the words of
Pastor Henry Wright, Author of A More Excellent Way:
"If we come to a Communion service and partake of the
cup and the bread but we deny healing and deliverance
as part of the atonement today, we eliminate the provision
of God in our lives as a human being apart from salvation
and eternal life in that day. For that reason, because we
eliminate the broken body, but we celebrate it, and we
don't believe it, then we cannot partake. For that reason
many of us are filled with disease and insanity today
because we have said in our heart that it (miraculous
healing) passed away two thousand years ago, yet we
still participate in the sacrament of Communion which
represents its reality for today."
Celebrating the Lord's Supper can either deny or provide
us healing by how we accept or deny the spiritual healing power of the fleshly body of Christ. Could it be many of God's people are chronically-ill today because they have eliminated half of
the sacrament of Communion?
Think on this matter the next time you partake of the
Lord's Supper. Our salvation is made complete in body,
spirit and soul through both the literal blood and flesh of
our Savior. But, Paul said many of us are weak and sick
because we fail to recognize (have faith in) Christ's body
(soma).
This means those of us who are sick, while we
recognize (have faith in) the blood of Jesus Christ to save
our souls, we do not recognize (have faith in) His literal body
(soma) to heal our literal bodies of disease--here--now.
Friends, I did not say that, the inspired Apostle, Paul, did!
The Lord's Supper (Eucharist or Holy Communion according
to your tradition) consists of two elements: The cup representing Jesus' shed blood, and the bread representing His broken body (I Corinthians 11:23-26).
Traditional doctrine teaches us that the Lord's Supper is
to keep us mindful that, as Christians, we are part of the
Body of Christ, that we are one in Christ through the
Gospel (I Corinthians 15:1-4), and that He shed His blood
for atonement of sin, and rightfully so.
But Paul had grave concern for something more in partaking the Lord's Supper that was killing his brethren. It lies at the very root of God's Scheme of Redemption, which is inclusive of healing body, spirit, and soul (salvation).
Paul states that the lack of discernment of the Lord's body
(I Corinthians 11:29) is cause for damnation and is why many
of us are sick today. The Greek word for body (soma) literally
refers to the physical fleshly body of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, by His perfect life, sacrificed His body for our healing and blood for atonement of our sins. These two realities both occur on the Cross.
Through the shedding of His blood, Jesus redeemed us
from the curse of the law of sin and death (Galatians 3:13).
But the broken body of Jesus is not for the forgiveness of
sin--It is for healing to be made possible. For without His
broken body, there could be no healing of any kind
(Romans 11:36; Colossians 1:15-18), either before or after
the Cross. This is where many Christians lack discernment.
It is through His shed blood that we find forgiveness, not His
broken body (Hebrews 9:22; Leviticus 17:11). And it is
through His stripes (His suffering and torment in the flesh)
that we are healed today (Isaiah 53:5; I Peter 2:24).
With this understanding in mind, consider the words of
Pastor Henry Wright, Author of A More Excellent Way:
"If we come to a Communion service and partake of the
cup and the bread but we deny healing and deliverance
as part of the atonement today, we eliminate the provision
of God in our lives as a human being apart from salvation
and eternal life in that day. For that reason, because we
eliminate the broken body, but we celebrate it, and we
don't believe it, then we cannot partake. For that reason
many of us are filled with disease and insanity today
because we have said in our heart that it (miraculous
healing) passed away two thousand years ago, yet we
still participate in the sacrament of Communion which
represents its reality for today."
Celebrating the Lord's Supper can either deny or provide
us healing by how we accept or deny the spiritual healing power of the fleshly body of Christ. Could it be many of God's people are chronically-ill today because they have eliminated half of
the sacrament of Communion?
Think on this matter the next time you partake of the
Lord's Supper. Our salvation is made complete in body,
spirit and soul through both the literal blood and flesh of
our Savior. But, Paul said many of us are weak and sick
because we fail to recognize (have faith in) Christ's body
(soma).
This means those of us who are sick, while we
recognize (have faith in) the blood of Jesus Christ to save
our souls, we do not recognize (have faith in) His literal body
(soma) to heal our literal bodies of disease--here--now.
Friends, I did not say that, the inspired Apostle, Paul, did!
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