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Chastening, God's style
Does God chasten His children? Perhaps the best teaching on this can be found in Hebrews 12.
The Septuagint (Greek version of the Old Testament) records it as the former while the Masoretic Text (Hebrew version of the Old Testament) records it as the latter. Why the difference, I do not know.
The problem is that many Christians would take Hebrews 12:6 -- "and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth" -- as proof that God does punish His children with physical pain, such as accidents and diseases.
But the word "scourgeth" means to "flog". I believe that if left in the passage's context of child-training, it just means that God does not spare the rod on his children. Does the Bible support fathers caning their children as part of child-training? Yes, very much so.
But how does God "cane" or chasten His children? What is His "rod" of correction? If He does not use pain, sicknesses, accidents or deaths to child-train us, how does He do it?
He does it with His Word and to our spirits!
Christians who still insist that God chastens with sicknesses and deaths to teach us important lessons such as faith, faithfulness, long-suffering, patience and self-control should consider carefully these points:
Does God chasten His children? Perhaps the best teaching on this can be found in Hebrews 12.
Hebrews 12:5-13
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
We can learn many wonderful truths from this passage. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
• As mentioned, if you look up the Greek word for "chastening", it literally means "child-training". Now, ask yourself if you would child-train your little ones with sicknesses, accidents and deaths. Would you burn your son's fingers to teach him not to play with matches? Would you put cancer on his tongue to teach him not to use foul language? Would you break his legs to teach him not to play on the roads? So, how dare we think otherwise of our heavenly Father! Earthly fathers, evil as they are, know how to give good things to their children, how much more our Daddy God (Matthew 7:11, Luke 11:13).
• We are not to despise chastening from our Father, for we can only benefit from it (Job 5:17, Psalms 94:12 and Revelation 3:19). Also, the fact that God chastens us is His proof to us that He loves us. It is His assurance to us that we are His legitimate sons, not bastards. It is His assurance to us that He is our Abba Father.
• Our earthly fathers chasten us for their own pleasure and for a while, but God does it faithfully and for our profit. In other words, our heavenly Father, being God, does a much better job than our earthly fathers.
• Our earthly fathers correct our "flesh", but our heavenly Father corrects our "spirit".
• Chastening is obviously not a joyous thing, but the results are good -- peace, health, holiness and spiritual maturity. You don't lose a leg, end up bedridden or die from God's chastening, as some have taught! How can a dead person learn anything, or apply and teach others what he has learned?
He does not 'spare the rod'• We are not to despise chastening from our Father, for we can only benefit from it (Job 5:17, Psalms 94:12 and Revelation 3:19). Also, the fact that God chastens us is His proof to us that He loves us. It is His assurance to us that we are His legitimate sons, not bastards. It is His assurance to us that He is our Abba Father.
• Our earthly fathers chasten us for their own pleasure and for a while, but God does it faithfully and for our profit. In other words, our heavenly Father, being God, does a much better job than our earthly fathers.
• Our earthly fathers correct our "flesh", but our heavenly Father corrects our "spirit".
• Chastening is obviously not a joyous thing, but the results are good -- peace, health, holiness and spiritual maturity. You don't lose a leg, end up bedridden or die from God's chastening, as some have taught! How can a dead person learn anything, or apply and teach others what he has learned?
Hebrews 12:6
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Paul is quoting from Proverbs 3:12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Proverbs 3:12
12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Notice that the last phrase is markedly different from what Paul had written. It says "even as a father the son in whom he delighteth" and not "and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth".12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
The Septuagint (Greek version of the Old Testament) records it as the former while the Masoretic Text (Hebrew version of the Old Testament) records it as the latter. Why the difference, I do not know.
The problem is that many Christians would take Hebrews 12:6 -- "and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth" -- as proof that God does punish His children with physical pain, such as accidents and diseases.
But the word "scourgeth" means to "flog". I believe that if left in the passage's context of child-training, it just means that God does not spare the rod on his children. Does the Bible support fathers caning their children as part of child-training? Yes, very much so.
Proverbs 13:24
24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Proverbs 19:18
18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Proverbs 22:15
15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Proverbs 23:13
13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Proverbs 29:15
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
With his Word, to our spirits24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Proverbs 19:18
18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Proverbs 22:15
15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Proverbs 23:13
13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Proverbs 29:15
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
But how does God "cane" or chasten His children? What is His "rod" of correction? If He does not use pain, sicknesses, accidents or deaths to child-train us, how does He do it?
He does it with His Word and to our spirits!
Hebrews 12:9
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?.
The verse above says that our earthly fathers are fathers of our flesh, while our heavenly Father is the Father of our spirits. In other words, our natural fathers correct our soul (mind, will, emotions) and body, whereas God corrects our spirit. And He uses his Word to do it.9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?.
Hebrews 12:5
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Psalm 94:12
12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
Proverbs 6:23
23 For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life,
2 Timothy 3:16,17
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
The rebuke of our Lord may come via a preacher’s sermon, reading of the Bible, our spouse, a friend or directly from the Lord. At that time, we may not like what we are hearing — perhaps it requires us to apologise to someone we dislike, or to change certain habits or attitudes. But if we yield and obey, we will profit from God’s chastening.5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Psalm 94:12
12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
Proverbs 6:23
23 For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life,
2 Timothy 3:16,17
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Hebrews 12:11
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Still not convinced?11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Christians who still insist that God chastens with sicknesses and deaths to teach us important lessons such as faith, faithfulness, long-suffering, patience and self-control should consider carefully these points:
• Faith is a grace gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). We can't "earn" it by going through sicknesses and sufferings. Faith comes by hearing repeatedly the words of Christ (Romans 10:17), not by being more and more sick.
• Faithfulness, long-suffering and patience are fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), not fruit of our sufferings and illnesses. The more we walk in the Spirit and in the revelation of God's Word -- not in sickness -- the more fruit we bear.
• If sickness is a lesson from God, then the Christian who has been sick for many years is obviously a slow learner. And instead of praying for his healing, we should be telling him: "Better buck-up bro, or you're not gonna make it!"
• And if the sick Christian dies eventually, it would mean that he failed to learn God's lesson. And what lesson was so important that it cost him his health, his savings, his marriage and, eventually, his life? What lesson was so important that it made a child fatherless or a wife without a husband? What lesson was so important that it brought chaos, worry, fear, sorrow and mourning to his loved ones? Does God need to resort to all that?
• Many Christians who argue that it is God's will for them to be sick still see the doctor, rest and take medication, contradicting God's "will" for them. This is because in their heart, they actually long to be healthy. Their spirit is actually crying out for healing, because that is God's truth and will for them.
• Why pray for the sick (Matthew 10:8, Mark 16:18, James 5:14-16)? How do we know we are not contradicting God's will in each case?
• If the temple of God under the Old Covenant was not decrepit, why should His New Covenant temple, which is our bodies (1 Corinthians 3:16,17, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16), be weak and sickly?
• 1 Corinthians 3:17 says that "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are". Now, would God contradict himself by putting leprosy on you? Or a cancer that eats away your internal organs?
• If Christ is the head of the body of the church, which is us (Ephesians 1:22, Ephesians 5:23, Colossians 1:18), why would He want His "arms" and "legs" or us to be diseased and ineffective?
• Jesus said that "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9-11). If we want to know what God is like, we look at Jesus, who is the "express image" of God (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus never gave sickness or death to anyone. Of the 35 miracles He performed, 23 (or two-thirds) were healings and three, raising the dead. So, if God chastens with sicknesses and deaths, why is this facet of God not reflected in Jesus' earthly ministry? Did Jesus miss out something?
• Christians are always talking about "following" Jesus or being like Him. Well, Jesus went about healing the sick (Matthew 4:23, Matthew 9:35, Acts 10:38). So, Christians ought to be out there healing the sick. But how can they have the faith to do that if they also believe that God authors sickness? There will be confusion.
• 1 John 4:17 says that "as he is [now], so are we in this world [this life]". Today, our glorified Lord is sitting at the right hand of the Father -- without sickness. So, why would God contradict His own Word by making many of us sick? How can "so are we" be true if God wants many of us sick?
• If sickness is sometimes God's will, then when we pray "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Luke 11:2), we are actually saying that there is a lot of sickness in heaven.
• How can one of the names of God be Jehovah Rapha -- "I am the LORD that healeth thee" (Exodus 15:26) -- if He is also "the Lord who makes you sick"?
• Why would God say in Proverbs 4:22 that His words are "life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh" if He wanted many of us to be sick? If this were true, then Christians who believe that God is making them sick should not read the Bible.
• How can the Psalmist say that our Lord "healeth all thy diseases" (Psalm 103:3) if God does not want to heal some of our sicknesses?
Article from: Salt & Light• Faithfulness, long-suffering and patience are fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), not fruit of our sufferings and illnesses. The more we walk in the Spirit and in the revelation of God's Word -- not in sickness -- the more fruit we bear.
• If sickness is a lesson from God, then the Christian who has been sick for many years is obviously a slow learner. And instead of praying for his healing, we should be telling him: "Better buck-up bro, or you're not gonna make it!"
• And if the sick Christian dies eventually, it would mean that he failed to learn God's lesson. And what lesson was so important that it cost him his health, his savings, his marriage and, eventually, his life? What lesson was so important that it made a child fatherless or a wife without a husband? What lesson was so important that it brought chaos, worry, fear, sorrow and mourning to his loved ones? Does God need to resort to all that?
• Many Christians who argue that it is God's will for them to be sick still see the doctor, rest and take medication, contradicting God's "will" for them. This is because in their heart, they actually long to be healthy. Their spirit is actually crying out for healing, because that is God's truth and will for them.
• Why pray for the sick (Matthew 10:8, Mark 16:18, James 5:14-16)? How do we know we are not contradicting God's will in each case?
• If the temple of God under the Old Covenant was not decrepit, why should His New Covenant temple, which is our bodies (1 Corinthians 3:16,17, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16), be weak and sickly?
• 1 Corinthians 3:17 says that "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are". Now, would God contradict himself by putting leprosy on you? Or a cancer that eats away your internal organs?
• If Christ is the head of the body of the church, which is us (Ephesians 1:22, Ephesians 5:23, Colossians 1:18), why would He want His "arms" and "legs" or us to be diseased and ineffective?
• Jesus said that "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9-11). If we want to know what God is like, we look at Jesus, who is the "express image" of God (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus never gave sickness or death to anyone. Of the 35 miracles He performed, 23 (or two-thirds) were healings and three, raising the dead. So, if God chastens with sicknesses and deaths, why is this facet of God not reflected in Jesus' earthly ministry? Did Jesus miss out something?
• Christians are always talking about "following" Jesus or being like Him. Well, Jesus went about healing the sick (Matthew 4:23, Matthew 9:35, Acts 10:38). So, Christians ought to be out there healing the sick. But how can they have the faith to do that if they also believe that God authors sickness? There will be confusion.
• 1 John 4:17 says that "as he is [now], so are we in this world [this life]". Today, our glorified Lord is sitting at the right hand of the Father -- without sickness. So, why would God contradict His own Word by making many of us sick? How can "so are we" be true if God wants many of us sick?
• If sickness is sometimes God's will, then when we pray "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Luke 11:2), we are actually saying that there is a lot of sickness in heaven.
• How can one of the names of God be Jehovah Rapha -- "I am the LORD that healeth thee" (Exodus 15:26) -- if He is also "the Lord who makes you sick"?
• Why would God say in Proverbs 4:22 that His words are "life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh" if He wanted many of us to be sick? If this were true, then Christians who believe that God is making them sick should not read the Bible.
• How can the Psalmist say that our Lord "healeth all thy diseases" (Psalm 103:3) if God does not want to heal some of our sicknesses?
