Introduction: I begin today's post with James 5:13-16...
James 5:13-16 (NASB) "Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."
Over the years I have talked to pastors and congregants alike who differ on what they think is being addressed here by James. Some tend to think he is only dealing with spiritual sicknesses or sins and thus there is no provision of healing whatsoever in the passage. Others tend to believe that only major illnesses are being addressed by James. Hence, only when a person is extremely sick should they then call for the elders of the church. As always, we must let the scriptures guide us, and so a word study of the terms for "sickness" in James 5:14 will be undertaken.
As the heading below will communicate, James is addressing those in the church who are dealing with physical ailments in James 5:14. May the Lord use these studies to illuminate His people to the truths of His word.
Ministry to those in the church who are physically sick - James 5:14
Commentary: James 5:14
"Is anyone sick among you.....".The word that must be immediately understood in this text is the noun translated "sick". The question before the interpreter is: "what manner of weakness or infirmity is being referred to here by James"? In consulting reliable resources that aid in studying words in the original languages (Liddell and Scott Greek Lexicon; Bauer, Ardnt, and Danker Greek Lexicon of the New Testament and other Greek literature), here are the meanings we find:
a. in body, feeble, sickly.
b. in mind, and the like.
c. in power, weak, feeble.
d. in property, weak, poor.
e. feeling or status of insignificance
In another standard reference work (Louw and Nida Lexicon based on Semantic Domains), we see the following range of meanings in the verb ασθενεω (as-thi-neo, "sick, sickness") here in James.
a. body of weakness be sick or weakness of any kind
b. weakness of any kind. 2 Cor 12:10; 13:3
c. figuratively, religious or moral weakness. Romans 14:2; 1 Cor 8:11
d. be weak economical, be weak in need. Acts 20:35
Let the reader note that whenever performing any word study, it is important to list all of the possible meanings first, followed by eliminating the options that do not fit the context or that are not listed as cross references in the lexicon. The meaning of a given word is determined by how the author uses it, which is how one goes about determining which lexical (i.e. definition) and semantic (i.e. meaning) applies to the word in the given context.
James is addressing those Christians in the church that have physical ailments that could range from the mild to the most severe. Based upon the context of James 5:13-16, the meanings that make sense are those that are physical in nature.
Life practical conclusions:
Why labor this point? Some people tend to limit James' instructions to those who are experience non-physical ailments. However, the context and word studies clearly indicate that physical illness is the primary target of James' instructions. As the Holy Spirit supervised the writing of this Epistle by James, He clearly expressed God's concern and intention for His church to minister to those who are physically ill.
When Jesus and the Apostles were proclaiming the Gospel and the revelation of God's Kingdom and New Covenant promises, they had to establish God's additional revelation of Jesus as God-incarnate, His atoning work, and resurrection by miracles. God gave the gifts of working of miracles and healings mainly to the Apostles and their associates to demonstrate that the message about Jesus was life-transforming and true.
As that first generation of Apostles and the earliest churches planted by them passed off the scene, God had ordained that any healing that took place would be by His Providence, rather than through specifically gifted individuals. This is why as early as 25 years after Jesus had risen and ascended, the Book of James included these instructions on anointing with oil, since any healing that would occur was to be done by prayer for the sick and anointing as governed by God's will, purpose, and providential effort.
What this also points to is that whenever we see institutions such as hospitals, mankind by common grace and general revelation is intuitively recognizing indirectly God's ability and desire to address physical sickness. God's work of healing primarily, if not exclusively, occurs through various ways of providence (prayer, anointing with oil, places like hospitals, people in the medical profession) and far less so through extraordinary providences or miraculously gifted individuals. This is why even if they don't acknowledge such truths, mankind as God's image bearers are not satisfied in letting diseases run their courses unabated.
James 5:13-16 were given for our instruction and application. The responsibility we have to explain the whole counsel of God, including healing, is both a very pastoral, personal and precise need in the church today. In our next post, we will consider the commands given to both the sick congregant and the church leadership.
