The Light Shines

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE LIGHT SHINES

2 Cor 4:1-6

4:1 Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

NIV

Now we know because of the mercy of God we will not lose heart regarding the ministry we have been called. The question we see here is what Paul meant about renouncing secret and shameful ways. Is that the deception or distortion of the word of God? Because this was the city of Corinth and it was mainly Gentiles and thus the city would have been filled with pagan gods, and the witchcraft, the dark arts, that use deception on the masses, that use the dark arts to trick people into various forms of false religion, this could be what Paul is referring to. Instead of using trickery, or some form of falsehoods, Paul says that he set forth the truth plainly. Paul says that he commends himself to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. Every person has a conscience, and it is that which is within us all that gives us the knowledge of what is right and wrong. Everyone knows deep within the truth, having the knowledge of God within them. All mankind, every person is a creation of God and loved by God. Whether people know it or not, He has put the knowledge of himself into all men. Some certain suppress the truth by their evil deeds, but their conscience still tells them which is good and true and which is evil and false. Everyone knows the truth when they hear it and it is our calling as believers in Christ to always tell the truth of the gospel. We need to speak it out plainly and boldly without veiling it in any secret formula. However, we do have to recognize the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers. Just as it happened in Corinth, it is still happening today. It is sad to watch such blindness. They know deep within the truth, but they have been blinded to it by all gods of this age. We do not know who the god of that age was, but we can clearly see the god of this age. So many have been deceived in so many ways, and it has been happening throughout the ages, but it seems to have gain strength more recently. We should not stand by and just watch, but even though we proclaim the truth, they are blind to it or refuse to open their eyes. We could become discouraged, but then again, we will not lose heart. All we can do is let our light shine in the darkness. Jesus said that we are now the light of the world, that we should not put our light under a bushel or hide it, or keep it just for ourselves, but to put it on a lampstand, so the whole house, the whole world may see our light, the light of Christ within us. The truth may make some unbelievers feel uncomfortable in its presence and what us to keep the light to ourselves, or hide it when we are with them, but we cannot, for the light simple shines, especially in the presence of darkness. 

Do Not Lose Heart

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

DO NOT LOSE HEART

2 Cor 4:1-6

4:1 Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

NIV

There is so much here, but we dare not just take one portion because we might lose the context of the whole. Yet, we may camp out here in the whole for a few days to explore various truths. The first we want to deal with is the idea of losing heart. Whatever God has called us to we should not or rather we will not lose heart. Life can bring many challenges and some of them are filled with opportunities to lose heart. This Greek word that is translated as "lose heart" means to be afraid, to become discouraged, to become weary or tired, to despair or to tire of. All that fits within the idea of losing heart. We might start to become discouraged if we do not see any results of our ministry. Sometimes we think our blog is not profitable and if people are traveling alone with us on this journey. We could start to become weary the older we get, getting tired of doing that which we have been doing for years and years. So many speak of retirement, even those with full-time paid positions within the church. But is retiring a form of losing heart, losing the love of serving God and men? How can we retire, or give in to some set age when we are to be put out to pasture, let to wander around doing little or nothing at all? But still, there are thoughts of whether we have any benefit to the kingdom of God. Are we being effective in our service to God? We simply cannot allow anything to cause us to lose heart. God has always directed our path, and He is the one who started this work in us and He is the one who will bring it to completion. Therefore, why would we think we would get tired of doing that which we have been doing. If God is doing the work within us, then He also gives us the strength and courage to keep on keeping on, until the day He brings us home. God has never retired, or tired of doing what He does. We do wonder, at times, if God has changed his call upon us, and desires for us to do something else. The point is still the same, He has not called us to retirement or tired and weary. Jesus said that if we are weary and heavy burdened, not just with life, but with our ministry, that we are to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, that He is gentle and humble in heart and we will find rest for our soul, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. When we partner up, pair up with Jesus, as the yoke implies then we are assured of never losing heart all the days of our lives, for again, He said that he would never leave us, never forsake us and thus we are yoked for life. 

Transformation means change

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

TRANSFORMING MEANS CHANGE

2 Cor 3:12-18

12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

NIV

Again, Paul drives the point home regarding the difference between the old and the new covenant. This is very close to what the veil in the temple represented. It kept the people separated from the shekinah glory of God. When Moses met with God it caused his face to shine, to reflect this glory of God, but he had to put a veil over his face so the people would not be harmed by God’s glory. The old covenant still has the veil and although we read it to this day the veil must still be in place. The old covenant does not give us life. It is interesting to read and there is a whole lot of history of mankind and their relationship with God, but it does not give us life. There is much truth within the scriptures in the Old Testament, including all the laws, the old covenant God made with his people, but none of it gives us life. There are volumes of beautiful Psalms with wonderful words about God and make great reading, but they do not give us life. Nothing within the old gives us life, and that is why we need Jesus. He has removed the veil, just as the veil was torn in the temple when Jesus died on that cross. He brought us life. We do not live in the old for the old has passed away and all things have become new. We live in the new creation and without veils so that we not only reflect the shekinah glory of God, but His glory dwells within us so we can reflect it. We are being, we are in the continual process of transformation into his likeness, and God’s glory is ever-increasing within us. This has to mean that we are not the same today as we were yesterday because His glory is ever-increasing as we are being transformed. Once the transformation begins it cannot be stopped. Although at times we might think that we are stuck in a rut, day in and day out the same old thing, nothing new is happening in our lives. We live with a routine that makes us comfortable. We might resist change because we are content with the way our life is. But the fact remains we are and cannot be static in our becoming like Him. We are not in charge of our transformation, Christ is and He is consistently at work within us, changing us, reforming us, transforming us into His likeness, and therefore we will and should reflect the shekinah glory of God. It is interesting the word shekinah means the dwelling or settling and denotes the dwelling of the divine presence. Because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, this shekinah glory is dwelling within for the presence of God is in us. But have we veiled it? Are we hiding it under the veil of our humanity? It would seem this may be possible, but then we would not be living in step with the Spirit. But He is calling out the cadence and if we hear his voice we will walk in the Spirit and live in a constant state of transformation, ever-changing, as His ever-increasing glory glows from within us. 

The Law or Faith

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE LAW OR FAITH

2 Cor 3:7-11

7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

NIV

This is nuts, Paul is saying that the letters engraved on stone condemned men, even though they came from glory. He is talking about the Ten Commandments and that they are from the old covenant which its glory fades away. They are not permanent like that with surpassing glory, the new covenant, that lasts. But we use the Ten Commandments. We keep them, print them, make them part of our statement of faith, or at least use them as commands from God as to what we are supposed to do and what we are forbidden to do. They are the law that we follow. Wait, the law? That cannot be, for Jesus fulfilled the law so that in Christ we have fulfilled it. Paul says that the law condemned men because it is impossible to keep the whole of the law and if we break one little bit of the law, then we are guilty of the whole of the law and therefore we are condemned to death. However, Jesus paid that price for us and freed us from condemnation and gave us life. This is why Paul says this is the surpassing glory that never fades, its glory lasts forever. So then, why do we want to pay attention to the glory that fades? Why do we insist on wanting to memorize and quote the Ten Commandments as if we want to live by them when they condemn us? Paul says those letters engraved on stone have no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. Yes, they are history, those letters engraved on stone, those Ten Commandments are part of the history of Israel, but they should remain as history for we now live in the lasting glory of Jesus Christ who gave us a new covenant, a new agreement, that if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior if we have faith if we put our faith in Jesus, then we have eternal life. Therefore, we cannot put our faith in those letters engraved on stone that has no more glory, in fact, those stones may well have become dust if anyone could even find them. They are hidden for a reason so that we might be saved through faith in Jesus. We are not to believe in that which its glory fades, or that which was once the word of God for the people but is not more, for it brought death. We are to believe in Jesus whose glory is an everlasting glory that never fades and that brings us life. It always comes down to not living by the law, even our own that we create, but living by faith. 

Living to Die or to live

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

LIVING TO DIE OR TO LIVE

2 Cor 3:4-6

4 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant- — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

NIV

Once again, there are two truths we find in such a short statement. The first is regarding being competent. Sometimes we feel so incompetent we wonder how we got through this life. This feeling is more so when we must teach or preach because this feeling of being inadequate for the task creeps in. But we must remember that it is not our abilities, our skills, or our education or knowledge that has any benefit, for it is all God and not us that gets the task complete. We have no confidence in our own abilities, but we do have complete confidence in God. If we are successful in any area of ministry it is due to the Lord alone. Yes, we do as much as we can, with our limited resources. We study as much as we are able, we put forth as much effort as possible to make ourselves ready for the task we have been called to do, but our labor is so feeble. God is the one who has made us competent as a minister of the new covenant. God is the one who has started the good work within us, and it is He who will bring it to completion. We must rely totally on Him for every aspect of our life but especially for the tasks he has called us to. The second truth we need to deal with here is the concept that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Because Paul uses the term, new covenant, he is referring to the letter of the law which was given to the Israelites. But most of the church in Corinth is made up of Gentiles who were not given the law. Maybe there were some Jews there who wanted to bring the law into the new covenant, or there were those who were called the Judaizers who taught that in order for a Gentile to become a Christian, they first had to become a Jew, being circumcised, then they could accept Jesus as the Messiah. Either way, the law always kills. It is a wonder how our post-modern church has evolved into making up its own set of laws rather than functioning by the Spirit. We have been instructed that once we have been freed from bondage, not to put ourselves back in bondage, yet that seems exactly what we have done. It seems the church today spends much effort in making rules and regulations and thinks that adherence to them is what makes us a “Good Christian”. Instead, all these rules, all these laws simply kill us, rather than giving us life. Yes, because we love the Lord, we want to live in a manner that pleases Him. Yes, because we love the Lord, we want to fulfill His will. Of course, we want to make every effort to keep ourselves pure and free from willful sin. But the fact remains, as the Jews could not fulfill the law, we cannot fulfill and rules and regulations we set before ourselves. Even when we use the word of God as a basis for our set of rules, they are still our set of rules, and not God’s for the one and only work, or rule that He sets before us is to believe in the one He sent. Living by the Spirit will result in a transformed life, there is no question about that. As we walk in step with the Spirit our lives will change, and we will live to please God. The focus of our lives will be centered in Jesus, not in this world, nor in the rules of denominationalism. Why would we want to live according to that which would bring us death when we can live by the Spirit who gives us life? It comes down to living to die or to live. 

His Way, Not Ours

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

HIS WAY NOT OURS

2 Cor 3:1-3

3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

NIV

This has some personal aspects regarding Paul and how he tells the church in Corinth, they are his letter of recommendation. The fact that in a city of such corruption, his labor along with his fellow servants firmly established a church that has gained a reputation in the whole region, as well as back in Jerusalem. In essence, it is not what we write the matters as much as how we may influence the hearts of others, encouraging them to live for God. It is not unusual in our times, to write resumes enumerating all our achievements and past endeavors, including names of individuals that would recommend us. Paul says he has no need for such a device as a resume, for his is written on the hearts of those people in Corinth. What about us? Do we really have need of the recommendations of men? Would it not be better to have the approval of God? But then again, are we seeking recognition of man, or of God? Boasting about our successes, or our achievements whether they are of the secular or spiritual nature may well be viewed as wanting the slap on the back or a “Great job” from people, while we may or may not be doing that which pleases the Lord. In fact, boasting certainly does not please Him. If we are to boast, we need to boast about Christ. Any skills, any abilities, any achievements we may have accomplished are completely due to His work in our lives. We merely have to look at the transformation that occurred in the life of Paul and see how God is the one who transforms us. He has done it, transforming us from what we were and made us into who we are so that He can use us to have an impact for His kingdom. Once again, our lives are not about how well we can elevate ourselves, but how well we can represent Christ, and that is entirely due to the working of the Spirit within us. It is difficult to receive praise from people, although it seems that should be a natural response for doing a “Good job”. Yet, it is not us that does that great job, but the Spirit working through us, or at least it should be. It is possible that with the proper training, a great educational background, and experience, we could simply act out our part by our human effort and do a “Good job”. But then who gets the credit and who are we seeking credit for, ourselves or God. All we are, all have, all we do, all we say is due to the Lord. Without Him, we are nothing but a sounding symbol, a clanking bell, a noise with no voice. If we need any resume, it should be what is in the hearts of those people we encounter. Have we impacted their lives any? Have we improved their lives in some way? Have we encouraged them, helped strengthen their walk with God? Has the Spirit had his way in us, with us, and through us? It is all about His way, not ours. 

Speaking Before God

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

SPEAKING BEFORE GOD 

2 Cor 2:14-17

14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

NIV

We are not done with these words. Although we dis deal with the idea of God leading us in a triumphal procession in Christ and being a fragrance of Christ everywhere. We left out the idea of peddling the word of God for profit versus speaking before God with sincerity, like men sent from God. There must have been men in those days, just as there are in our days, who peddle the word of God for profit. It never ceases to amaze us there are people, believers who are willing to follow such charlatans, who do nothing more than fleece the flock, so to speak, so they can live an extraordinarily abundant life. How can these men speak with sincerity, or for that matter, speak before God? Whenever the Word of God is spoken before men, we need to remember foremost, that we are speaking before God. We also need to remember that being in Christ, and when we speak that we do so with all sincerity, or with purity, as the Greek word means. How can we speak any corrupt words to retail the word of God, especially before Him? It is interesting the Greek word translated as peddle does carry the meaning of retailing as a huckster would. “Hurry, hurry, come and hear words that tickle your fancy” “Step right up ladies and Gentlemen, buy your tickets now, and hear words that can make you rich” the hucksters are a bit more subtle, nevertheless, they are selling God’s word for profit. No, we have to speak with all purity of intent, because we are held to a higher standard. Whenever we speak the Word of God, we speak as being sent from God. If then, we are sent from God to speak before men, we better make sure that which we speak is truth, and that we speak in humility, knowing that God has given us the words to speak. Yes, it is right to honor those called to pastor the flock and particularly those called to full-time ministry and their labor deserves a wage. But that is far different than peddling the word for profit. Perhaps anyone who speaks before God and men with sincerity should not be muzzled but compensated for their labor. Yet even Paul did not ask for a payment, but rather labored with friends to make an income from selling tents they made, so he would not be a burden on the local churches. However, the point is still the same, speaking the word of God has to be with sincerity because we speak it before God, and people like men being sent from God.