From Old to New

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

FROM OLD TO NEW

2 Cor 5:16-21

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

NIV

Everything in this explanation is based on the word reconciliation. The Greek word here means to exchange, such as taking some foreign coins and exchanging them for US currency of equal value thus reconciling them. In the same way, we have been changed from the old self or old creation to a new creation. God has changed us, he has done it all, reconciling us to him. Once all our sins were counted against us, but that is no longer the case, at least for us who are in Christ. He has changed us from the currency that was foreign to him and exchanged us into His currency. Granted, we are the same person, we have the same personality, the same appearance, and maybe even the same general temperament, but that old self which was completely focused only on its own pleasures is gone. We have a new direction in life, and it is focused on Christ. Although we have not totally given up wanting certain things in life, both the tangible and the intangible, we are not completely consumed by them. We want to please the Lord and do that which he has called us to. Each of us has an assignment in this new creation life. None of us are useless and should think we are simply to sit around just being content to be saved or be saved and then move along life in the same direction we have been, doing that which gains our goals, our desires, and our security in retirement. Being reconciled to God, being changed from the old into the new must mean something other than simply getting saved from death and given eternal life. Paul says that he was made an ambassador of Christ as though God was making his appeal through him. Are we not also ambassadors? Do we not also represent Christ to the world? If they know that we are a Christian, or maybe if that know we are simply a religious person, not knowing what it means to be born again or saved, or any other of our Christiane’s terms, they watch us. They observe how we act, how we work, how we treat people, and how we treat them. We are Christ’s ambassadors, whether we want to be or not. However, the duty of an ambassador, or the role, is to speak for their sovereign, that is not their own ideas or thoughts, but what does our sovereign want to be said to the foreign county in which we have been sent to live in. Therefore, as His ambassador, we are to go into the world and tell the story of reconciliation, the gospel message. We must remember that we have been reconciled, we have been exchanged from that old into the new. We need to live as being new. 

Out of our Mind and In Our Right Mind

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

OUT OF OUR MIND, AND IN OUR RIGHT MIND

2 Cor 5:11-15

11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

NIV

This is a little confusing. What are we going to do with this? How do we make sense of it? First, the Greek word Paul used here translated as fear, is exactly that, to be put in fear, to be alarmed. This is not the word that can be used as reverence which is also translated as to fear the Lord. This is to fear him, to be afraid of his wrath,  and to know that awesome power that he can pour forth upon mankind. When we think about that and know that we are not hidden from God in any way, that he knows our heart and mind and we are fully exposed to him. Paul says what we are is plain to God. Why would we not be alarmed? Although we might look good on the outside, and present a nice looking, Christian, image to our fellow humans, the total sum of all we are on the inside, our inner man that other men cannot see, is completely exposed to God. We know what it is to fear him, although we have no reason to now, for we are in Christ, and through him, we are declared holy and blameless in His sight. But the point is that we know what is it to fear God, and because we know we should be trying to persuade others so they will not experience his wrath, but rather his grace, as we do now. Paul is also making the point that what we are, should be a witness to those who judge things by what is seen rather than what is in the heart. Most of the world cannot see into our heart, they cannot tell our inner man’s love for God, but only see the condition of our outer man and its movements, or actions, and its expression, or spoken words. It might seem that when we are alone, that we are a bit crazy in our expression toward God. That is we worship Him with all our heart, mind, spirit and, strength, and it could look somewhat strange to an outsider. Although we must admit, some churches we have been in we see some standing as if they were a statue, perhaps appealing more to those who take pride in the seen than what is in the heart. But when we worship, we ought to appear out of our mind, because it is for the sake of God. But when we speak or interact with others, for either the purpose to witness, in order to bring the good news to them, or for the purpose of teaching or encouraging others in their faith, we need to be in our right mind. The question we must ask ourselves is if we too are compelled. Are we compelled by the love of Christ to no longer live for ourselves, but to live for Christ? Are we so convinced of this truth that we are compelled to tell others, to help them escape the death that awaits them so that they too can live as we do because of Christ? So at times, we are out of our mind for the sake of God, and in our right minds for the sake of people. 

The Good and The Bad

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE GOOD AND THE BAD

2 Cor 5:6-10

6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

NIV

We have arrived at a very theological moment that has had some interesting perspectives from various scholars. First, we should deal with the idea of either being at home in the body or away from it and at home with the Lord. Paul makes it very clear there is no intermediate place, we are either here or there. It is also right to expect that the moment we leave this body, that is our soul, who we are, this inner man, that we leave it behind and at once enter the presence of our Lord. There is the thought that when we die, we sleep, we remain asleep until the resurrection. But that is just not possible as this temporary tent is subject to decay and at some point, in that decay, it would in essence turn to dust. Where oh where would our soul be, left floating around asleep in the coffin waiting for the resurrection? This is not the theology of Paul, nor of the Spirit who inspired his words. The moment this body is finished, we leave it and step into the presence of our Lord. Now, because we are going to be in the presence of the Lord, we will also stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Here again, there is mixed theology regarding what happens as we appear before Christ and are judged for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. This has been portrayed by Hollywood in various ways, such as the Albert Brooks movie, “Defending your life”, where he dies and must endure being judged as they watch a video of the bad moments of his life, shown by the prosecution. This type of theology has also spawned the idea that there is punishment in heaven for every sin we have committed as well as a reward for every “good deed” that we have committed. So, then we must live a very pure life if we are to escape the judgment for the bad things we have done in the body. This is an impossible task that we will never be able to accomplish. Besides, that kind of thinking is inconsistent with the rest of the scripture. We know from the revelation that was given to John that at the judgment seat of Christ the scene is going to be a separation of the sheep from the goats. What this means is that all mankind is going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and the good and bad that we are judged for is whether we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and became sheep, or whether we rejected Christ and stayed goats. The good is accepting Jesus, the bad is rejecting Jesus. Because we are the sheep and He is the Great Shephard we will hear those words, “Enter into my rest” The others will hear something like, “Away from me, you evildoers” Therefore, while we are in the body, we make it our goal to remain in Christ, for He is our salvation. He has cleansed us from all our sin and declared us holy and blameless in His sight. Therefore it is not about how much good or bad each one of us does, but about who did the good, and who did the bad. 

The Guarantee

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE GUARANTEE 

 2 Cor 5:1-5

5:1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

NIV

There are several thoughts concerning this idea of the earthy tent we live in and that it will be destroyed by death. Again, as Paul has continually pointed to this idea of the outer man and the inner man, we are not this body but a soul who dwells in this temporary tent that someday we will be freed from through the death of the body. As far as what Paul refers to as an eternal house in heaven is a little difficult to understand his meaning. We know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We also know there is a resurrection of the body at some time in the future. So, while we lay to rest this temporary tent and leave it we, our soul, travels into the presence of our Lord. As to what that looks like exactly is not clear. However, while we are dwelling in this tent, we groan and are burdened. That is our bodies are subject to the aches and pains, infirmities, and simple the aging process and all that happens to us. But we know this is just temporary and we do not live for the body, but the body is for us to live until we receive our heavenly dwelling. What happens to those who are not going to receive their heavenly dwelling is too harsh to comprehend fully, but we know that whatever perish means, that will be their fate, for they shall remain unclothed. We will not have to worry about being found naked, for this mortal may be clothed with immortality in our heavenly dwelling. Although this body dies, we will live. We know this is true as we have been given the Spirit, and we sense the Spirit within, dwelling within, giving us that hope, that confidence of what is to come. He is, in fact, a guarantee from God as to what is to become of us as we leave this body. The kind of celestial being we will be until the resurrection of our bodies has not been described for us, but we know it will be wonderful and glorious as we will be in the presence of our Lord and God. However, we also know that someday we will live in the new city of Jerusalem on a new earth in a physically resurrected form living in that place that Jesus has prepared for us. But, for now, we live in this temporary dwelling yearning to be in our eternal home with our Lord. This is our guarantee. 

The Temporary and The Eternal

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE TEMPORARY AND THE ETERNAL

 2 Cor 4:16-18

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

NIV

Everything Paul has been saying comes to this point, this statement. There is no question this body of ours is wasting away. It is getting older by the moment and is getting all the aches and pains that accompany age. It no longer looks young. The years have taken a toll on it. Wasting away fits the description well. Although through the marvels of medicine our eyes have not been dimmed, although some people even medicine cannot help them with sight. Age has weakened our muscles somewhat. On and on we can enumerate the problems with our outward self, but there is this inward self and is the one who in the grand scheme of things is who we are. Each day we are renewed. Every morning is a new day, and we are in the process of being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. This should mean that we should see some change within us, some transformation, even if it is a very small amount. The Greek word translated as renewed is a form of the word that means to be renovated. This is why we see this renewing as transforming because just as if we were in a constant state of renovating our home, making changes, updating it on a day-by-day basis, this is how our inner self is being renovated, renewed, transformed. Updated from what it once was to what it is today and tomorrow it will be renovated some more, and each day after that. So then, no matter what is going on with our outward man, our inward man is better than it has ever been and that outweighs all the afflictions that affect the outward self. Therefore, we do not pay attention to what we see in the mirror, for that is the seen and temporary. But we fix our eyes in our inward self, the unseen, and what is eternal. This is the same as the world we live in that is seen and temporary, but we fix our eyes on Jesus who at this moment is unseen and eternal, except, of course, seen in us as we reflect Him to the world. Nevertheless, it is all about the seen and the unseen, the temporary and the eternal. 

Overflowing Glory

 

DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

OVERFLOWING GLORY

2 Cor 4:13-15

13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

NIV

Paul is quoting the words of the psalmist in his 116^th song. Although the circumstances are many years apart, they are somewhat the same. The psalmist was in distress and so has been Paul. The truth of this can apply to our lives at times. Although in general, we are not in distress in the manner of the psalmist nor Paul. The idea is that because we believe we have the confidence to speak to God and to pray when we have a situation that is beyond our ability to cope with, which is most of life. The problem comes when we think that we can handle everything that comes our way and that we can fix it, we can solve the problem. When we think that we are strong, we are in deep trouble. Yes, God has given us a mind and with it, we can learn many things. But the greatest thing we can learn is that we can rely on God. What is the sense in believing if we live our life in accordance with our own abilities, knowledge, or strength? Do we just believe so that we can escape death? Is salvation the only thing we believe in God for? Paul does make that point in some sense when he says, that because he knows that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead, that he will also raise us with Jesus and present us in his presence. That is a great reason to believe, and of our belief, we may share this great story, this gospel message so that more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. That is what we should be doing as well, living in such a manner, living with thanksgiving not just in our quite times alone, but living life out loud, thanking God for everything in our lives, all the time so that our life overflows with thanksgiving, bringing all the glory to God. This goes right along with not working for the praise of men, but for the praise of God, except that we need it insist that when we are praised, which happens, as it seems the normal thing most people do, we transfer that praise to God. This is more than believing to be saved but speaking because we believe. Speaking to God about everything and giving God all the credit for everything in our lives. When God’s grace, His divine influence upon our hearts, is reflected in our lives, it causes us to overflow with the glory of God. How can we remain silent when we have the Spirit of God dwelling within and giving us the confidence to speak of His glory? 

Jars of Clay

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

JARS OF CLAY

2 Cor 4:7-12

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

NIV

First, we need to see that jars of clay are more actually translated as earthen vessels. The idea is the same in that a jar of clay would be some form of pottery. This gives us the idea of the frailty of our bodies and how they are easily broken. Of course, there are also some differences with earthen vessels in that they can be plain unfired clay or that which has been fired in a kiln. The unfired clay is easily reshaped if it begins to decay its shape. However, the fired clay if broken would remain in pieces unless it could be glued, but then it would never be the same. What all this reminds us of is that we are the clay and God is the potter who forms us into the vessel of his choice. The purpose of being an earthen vessel formed by God is for His purpose of putting His gospel within us. It is the treasure that God has put within this frail shell He formed from clay and breathed His breath of life within. Paul also makes the point that although we may face all sorts of adversities and that we live in a mortal form that carries death within it, as Jesus died while in the flesh, we also carry life. The treasure of the gospel, the treasure of life through Jesus Christ can be revealed in our bodies. The point that we are a frail earthen vessel also means that we have not strength, no abilities, no greatness within ourselves. We are but the vessel and a clay one at that, nothing special to look at, we have no beauty or special ornamentation, but just a common clay vessel, so that the treasure is the greatness that we have within us. Our common appearance is so that the glory of Christ may be seen in us. At the wedding in Cana when the bridegroom was out of wine, and Jesus had the servants fill jars of clay with water, just simple common jars of clay, nothing special about them for they were used to carry water, and he turned that water into the best wine of all. It was in some sense the treasure of the feast yet served from jars of common clay. This is our story, being common jars of clay, we carry the treasure of God within us, Jesus Christ, and the purpose is to be used to serve this treasure to all, so Jesus is revealed in us.