Objection: 1 John 3:8 in Context Refers to SIN, Not Sickness

1 John 3:8:
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

I agree that the beginning of this verse talks about SIN, and I also agree that based on this verse, SIN is a work of the devil that Jesus came to destroy.

The only thing is, the verse does not qualify “works of the devil” as being ONLY sin.  He came to destroy “the works of the devil” as opposed to “the work of the devil” or “sin, the work of the devil.”  So I disagree that sickness could not be included in the meaning of this verse.

Acts 10:38 shows us that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power and that He went around doing good, healing all those who were under the slavery-style domination of the devil (you can refer to the notes on Acts 10:38 for more on the specific meaning of the word translated oppressed in the King James Version).  So it should be obvious that sickness, a work of the devil, is something that Jesus came to destroy.  You see Him destroying the devil’s works throughout the four gospels, and then later, through His Body, the Church.  In fact, if you don’t want to get this truth from 1 John 3:8, you can get it elsewhere in Scripture anyway.

However, many faith teachers today don’t mention the sin context of this verse, so you can at least thank the objector for pointing out that Jesus wants SIN destroyed in your life along with the other “works of the devil” that include sickness.