“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.” James 5:14-16 ESV
There is so much here. These three verses could easily warrant a 4 part sermon series.
Two words command our attention in this passage right away. “Sick” and “healed”. Before we go around making promises for God, we need to understand these words. His words. (Another post on the subjunctive (probable/possible, ie not certain) tense of the other verbs used in this text would be well worth it. We’ll see.) To begin:
Sick
The word in the original Greek is κάμνω [kamno /kam·no/]. This word literally means, “to be weary”. Weary implies exhausted in strength, endurance, vigor, or freshness.
Two Observations
- Based on this, we can make no certain judgement about whether this is a physical, mental, or spiritual sickness. An illness; whether physical, mental, or spiritual will certainly cause weariness. Although, based on the other uses of this word in scripture, I would be inclined to believe this is a weariness of the soul, a spiritual sickness. (This is translated more accurately in Hebrews 12:3 where the same Greek word is used.)
- My main argument for why this is a “weariness of the soul” is how this text progresses. From “sickness” to “forgiveness”.
Healed
Again, I go straight to the Greek. The word is ἰάομαι [iaomai /ee·ah·om·ahee/], which means to heal, renew, and make whole. The word also could easily ascribe to either physical, mental, or spiritual situations. I can be physically whole, mentally whole, and spiritually whole. So which is it!? I would be inclined to believe that the type of healing relates directly to the type of sickness (spiritual).
An Argument for Spiritual Sickness and Healing
While I am convinced that James intends to communicate a spiritual situation based on the root and context of these two words, I believe the clearest argument for this is the presence of the words sin and forgiveness in the text.
There is one who is sick. There is a prayer of faith (in truth). There are sins that have been committed. There is a divine act of raising, and there is FORGIVENESS. God is not meeting a physical need with a physical answer, he is meeting a spiritual need with a spiritual answer. These are spiritual realities that impact every single human being. Not every person is physically sick, but every person is spiritually sick. The real miracle in this passage is God restoring the depraved sinner to himself through faith in Christ. This is an eternal miracle.
Following the forgiveness of the sick individual, James encourages the entire Church to confess their sins to one another, that they be healed. Confessing sins is not a practice to achieve physical reward. It is a practice that Glorifies God, and allows a true outpouring of Grace by means of the spirit to manifest. This is a spiritual healing.
THIS IS AN ETERNAL MIRACLE
I do not see how James is communicating that this is a formula to achieve miraculous physical healing at a moments notice. That would be a gross and wicked misinterpretation.
I do want to affirm that God can and does work miracles in this time. Jesus performed miracles in this age, and I believe God continues to do so. I have no problem affirming what God can do. I have huge problems with predicting and declaring what God will do, if I do this or that, without significant, clear, and indisputable evidence in Scripture.
I will never say that God will heal you from your disease because The Lord left hundreds if not thousands crippled at the Bethesda pool. (John 5:1-15) He healed one man. However, since he healed one, we can say that he is capable of physical healing with complete confidence. I would simply encourage you to set your eyes on that which is eternal, knowing that whatever God wills for this life, whether sickness or health, it is brief, and suffering is temporary.
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.” James 5:13 ESV
Seek God through all life throws at you. Do not seek what God can give, but who he is, and what he has given:
