SPIRITUAL AUTO-IMMUNE DISORDERS

 

SPIRITUAL AUTO-IMMUNE DISORDERS

By Mary Ann Wray

According to “Medicine Plus” website, an autoimmune disorder occurs when a person’s immune system attacks and destroys healthy body tissue. When you have an autoimmune disorder, your immune system does not distinguish between healthy tissue and antigens (a harmful substance including cancers that causes the body to produce antibodies). As a result, the body sets off a reaction that destroys normal tissues in ‘self-defense’. In a sense, the immune system becomes confused and causes organs and tissues to turn on itself rather than attack the real enemy-the antigen. There are more than 80 types of autoimmune disorders which can result in the destruction of body tissue, abnormal growth of an organ, and changes in organ function. They can cause many diseases in the body.

A body may have more than one autoimmune disorder at the same time. Common autoimmune disorders include but are not limited to: Dermatomyositis, Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Multiple sclerosis, and Type I diabetes to name just a few. Symptoms may vary based on the type and location of the faulty immune response. Common symptoms include: fatigue, fever, general ill-feeling (malaise), joint pain and rash.

Through understanding some of the basic biology of the human anatomy we can gain some very valuable spiritual insight on how this relates to our spiritual relationships within the Body of Christ. We know that internal organs are obviously not visible, but yet vital for our health. There are some organs and limbs that a body can function without such as tonsils, appendix, gallbladder and internal reproductive organs i.e. ovaries, uterus and the prostate gland et al. Often times, they become diseased and have to be removed. However, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, the brain, and other vital organs are necessary to sustain life. Without these, the body cannot function and will die. If they become diseased, they must be repaired or replaced, if possible, which is very risky. Organ replacement carries its own set of problems. We know that our God can fix any and all of our diseases, but I am just using this as an analogy to bring across a point.

The Body of Christ…

You see, as individual members of the Body of Christ, we are part of the whole Body with Christ as the Head. How we interact with each another will determine the overall health of the Body of believers that we are attached to and are in relationship with. In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul addresses the issue of taking the Body and Blood of Christ (in the sacrament of Communion) in an unworthy manner (1 Cor. 11: 27-31). For this reason, Paul stated, many are sick and weak amongst us and some have fallen asleep early (premature death). This comes about because they did not properly discern the Lord’s Body. In so doing Paul says that we eat and drink judgment upon ourselves.

We Must Learn to Discern…

The word discern here means: discriminating and recognizing with due appreciation. Could it be that if I do not recognize and appreciate your value as a member of the same Body I am attached to in Christ Jesus, regardless of denominational affiliation, I may be causing myself harm? Could it be that I open myself up to the wrong antigen (enemy). By not loving and regarding you as part of myself no matter the color of your skin, outward appearance, idiosyncrasies, denomination or socio-economic status, I remove any possibility of you offsetting any spiritual attack and malaise against me through our association as members one of another?

Likewise, Paul states the following in Galatians 5: 15, ‘If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”  Paul is saying that we can actually destroy each other in terms of our function within the Body of Christ if we are not careful with our mouths (biting and devouring) much like an autoimmune disorder! The Amplified Bible explains it a bit further as follows:” But if you bite and devour one another [in partisan strife], be careful that you [and your whole fellowship] are not consumed by one another.”

That’s a pretty strong admonition! What I think the Apostle Paul is saying here is that by taking sides and/or creating strife within the Body of Christ, we are literally consuming ourselves by creating an auto-immune disease effect within the church! Could this be one reason why we don’t see as much spiritual maturity taking place or the number of healings we long to see in our churches? Could it be that members of that very assembly are guilty of strife, division and/ or favoritism causing a rift in the body where the healthy organs are being attacked by others but the real (antigen) enemy of our souls goes undetected? This is something to really ponder.

Growing Healthy in Christ…

Spiritual Maturity requires putting off of the old and a putting on of the new. Paul told the Corinthians in Chapter 3,” Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

Then he went on to say in 1 Corinthians 13 (commonly referred to as the Love Chapter) “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”

You see, spiritual maturity requires putting off childlike unloving behavior and attitudes and putting on Christ-likeness. One reason why a child suffering with serious physical maladies at a young age has difficulty growing in stature physically is because of inward stress. Any disease, particularly in a child, causes the body to focus on healing itself rather than multiplying healthy tissue and organs for growth. This was not part of God’s original and divine design. Due to the fall, disease and death set in but in the fullness of time, God sent His only Son, Jesus, the Second Adam to redeem us from the fall and some of its affects now. In eternity ALL effects of the fall are erased, thank the Father!

Likewise, a church will have difficulty growing and being effective reaching its community when/ if its members are focusing on child-like negativity and strife rather than coming together in unity with one vision and purpose under the Lordship of Jesus Christ – the Head! It’s a sad thing to see an older Christian (beyond youth) who should be walking in love with the Armor of God not doing so because of immaturity. 

Wounds that stunt Spiritual Growth…

Sometimes immaturity is a result of a wound that has never been healed and causes us to focus almost all of our attention on self. However, we still have a choice to remain in our pain, negative thinking and attitudes or put on Christ likeness. Additionally, at some point our mothers demanded that we begin the exchange of diapers for potty training. This compelled us to stop relying on her and take personal responsibility for passing our own excrement and putting it where it belonged-in the potty, not on the carpet or in the  diaper for her to deal with. Pardon the vivid picture here but I think you get the point and I believe it drives it home well.

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth …Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4: 14-16

Gathering Together brings strength and healing…

Jesus calls us as believers to assemble together (Hebrews 10: 25). It has been the practice for the Body of Christ since the Church’s (ekklésia-called out ones) birth on the Day of Pentecost. Granted, we may not have church services exactly as they were conducted in the early days with mostly home churches due to persecution. But the practice of coming together weekly and breaking bread from house to house has always been the pattern for worship despite its inherent challenges. Its purpose is to build the family of God first, a body of believers, in real koinonia fellowship because it makes the Body grow and mature together in agape love. Through this mutual practice we can accomplish God’s will and purpose in the earth. Praise and worship, sacrificial giving, good works, helping the poor and needy, taking care of the widow and orphan and evangelism are difficult at best and sometimes nearly impossible unless a Body of Believers in Christ purpose to come together under God ordained leadership as the Holy Spirit emplaces each member together…

“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.”  1 Corinthians 12: 13-14

Severed Limbs…

You see brothers and sisters, if we are not attached to a body, we become a ‘thing’ much like the “Thing” on the Adams Family! As weird and creepy as that is, there are many in the Body of Christ who have been wounded and have detached themselves from fellowship. As a result, they make a vow to never be hurt again and wind up being an island unto themselves. You can never be as effective alone as you can together with a body. That is how God designed us! To attempt to do otherwise goes against Jesus’ will and design for His Body.

The fact that you ARE a part of the Body of Christ makes you valuable in whatever your function may be. We mustn’t sever ourselves from the rest of the Body. At the same time we must be careful to discern others in love for Christ’s and the Body of Christ’s sake! Jesus calls us to prefer one another in love! (Romans 12: 9-10). There is no such thing as perfection this side of Heaven. If you are looking for perfect brothers and sisters in Christ, a perfect church or a perfect pastor, you will be disappointed time and again. We must pray that the Holy Spirit lead us to where He wants us to worship and serve and be obedient to study the scriptures for ourselves.

Biting and Devouring One Another is a Spiritual blight!

Another spiritual auto-immune deficiency taking place in the Body of Christ is happening like a pandemic today. There are different ones establishing YouTube Channels, I believe to gain notoriety and establish themselves as ‘ministers’ of the gospel. They openly condemn by name again and again other ministers as “false prophets” and “false teachers.” Some of it is warranted in regards to their heretical teachings but a lot of it is pure meanness. You don’t have to call out a name but you should call out the false teaching. We must also understand that differences in scriptural interpretations that are not essential for salvation can be disputed and debated in love. We will never agree 100% on every passage and doctrine that are non-essential to salvation due to denominational teachings and differences. One example would be when is the catching away of the church: pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation or post-tribulation? Is the Sabbath Saturday or Sunday? Can women preach and publicly share the gospel? Are all of the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12 for today?

What one disagrees about these things does not make them false teachers. We only know in part and prophesy in part. One day we will know and understand ALL the answers to some of our questions and disagreements  when the Lord Jesus returns to set up His Heavenly Kingdom on the earth and we rule and reign with Him for a thousand years. However, one thing we can and should agree upon is striving to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of Peace (Ephesians 4:6). It is only possible by preaching the essential Salvation message of the gospel of Jesus Christ! There are instances where it is best and wise to not argue about interpretation of scriptures that are non-essential for salvation. Arguing only breeds more division. See 2 Timothy 2: 24.

YouTube Madness…

I saw on YouTube one of these people the other day who said he used to be a “false prophet” and repented for his delusion and deceiving the Body of Christ. I rejoiced at his testimony and was so blessed to see someone who realized that false words of knowledge, personal prophecies and false words of wisdom were doing tremendous damage to the Body of Christ. However, as I looked at some of his other videos, he incessantly bashed and called out one minister after another calling this one and that one a false prophet in such a way that made him appear as the expert in all doctrinal issues and errors. This grieved me to the point of prayer. I asked the Lord, “What is the matter was with this person?” He was intent of pointing the finger at just about every other minister of the Gospel including Brother Billy Graham who I deeply respect. He was instrumental during his lifetime of winning thousands to Christ by preaching the Good News and repentance in the name of Jesus Christ.

As soon as I asked the Lord what was the matter with him several scriptures came to mind…”Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.  You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” Matthew 23: 23-24

I realized at that moment that this man was converted from being a false prophet to a pharisee pointing out everybody else’s faults and sins as he perceived them to be. I wondered if he had completely chopped the log out of his own eye in order to see the splinter in someone else’s? What’s worse? I unliked his first video and unsubscribed to his YouTube channel.  His 'teachings' were poisoning me. Paul admonished Timothy, a son in the faith, the study to show himself approved unto God, rightly dividing the word of truth. If the Word of God is taught in balance and according to sound doctrine we can know the truth and that will set us free. Also, if God’s people take it upon themselves to prayerfully study the Word of God rather than depend on their Pastor as being the sole source of Bible knowledge, they would learn to discern truth from error.

Prayer for Unity…

Finally, Jesus prayer for unity in the Body of Christ is found in John 17 which is also referred to as His “High Priestly Prayer.” Here is a portion found in John 17: 20-26 ESV

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.  I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

The Apostle Paul further instructed the church in Corinth who had all the gifts of the Spirit in use but were full of jealousy, division and discord as follows:

“Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way (love). 1 Cor 12: 15-29 & 31