The Grace of Giving

1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

8 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. – 2 Corinthians 8:1-8 ESV

Paul had been overwhelmed by the reception of his previous letter, even though its message had produced sorrow among the Corinthians. However, that sorrow had led to their repentance, and they had responded in grace, love, and gratitude.

Now Paul takes the opportunity to appeal to that same grace to enlist their help with a pressing financial concern. For nearly five years, Paul has been actively soliciting funds from the churches he had helped establish throughout Macedonia, Galatia, Achaia, and Asia Minor. This money was being sent to help Hebrew Christians living in Judea, where they were suffering from the effects of a famine as well as the poverty that came as a result of their conversion to Christianity. Many had lost their jobs, been ostracized by their families, or were having a difficult time trying to do business with their Jewish neighbors. Paul was constantly requesting the churches he helped to start to provide financial assistance to their brothers and sisters in Judea, and Corinth was no exception.

Paul begins by informing the Corinthians of the generosity displayed by the churches in Macedonia, a neighboring region. In referring to the Philippians, Thessalonians, and Bereans, Paul was adroitly using comparison to make his appeal to the Corinthians. He points out that their neighbors to the north “have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part” (2 Corinthians 8:2 ESV). And this was in spite of their own “extreme poverty.” Paul says, “they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will” (2 Corinthians 8:3 NLT). Not only that, Paul insists that they begged for the opportunity to give more.

This was not the first time the Corinthians had heard about the need in Judea. Paul had raised this issue in his first letter. He referred to it as the “collection for the saints” (1 Corinthians 16:1). But either the Corinthians had begun to give and then stopped, or they had never fully gotten behind the effort to begin with. Either way, Paul is now appealing to them to allow the grace of God to flow through them, as it did with the believers in Macedonia.

When it came to the body of Christ, the church, Paul had a strong sense of community and unity. He wanted each congregation to understand and embrace their connection with and responsibility to their fellow believers all around the world. They were not to view themselves as independent entities, isolated and removed from the larger context of the family of God. Instead, they were to see themselves as brothers and sisters in Christ, sharing a common bond with all believers everywhere. And Paul wants them to know that God desired to use them to extend His grace to the believers in Judea. Paul had even sent Titus to encourage their participation in this fundraising effort. 

Paul reminds them that they are a gifted church.

…you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us… – 2 Corinthians 8:7 NLT

There appears to be a hint of sarcasm in this statement. In his previous letter, Paul had been forced to address their arrogance regarding the gifts of the Spirit they had received and their prideful use of them. But he began by pointing out how they had been enriched by God. 

I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 1:4-7 NLT

Yet, they had been guilty of using their Spirit-endowed gifts for selfish, self-promoting purposes. They had turned the gifts of the Spirit into badges of honor, pridefully comparing their spirituality and boasting in their superiority over one another. This had led Paul to write, “Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters” (1 Corinthians 1:10-11 NLT). Paul went on to point out, “You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?” (1 Corinthians 3:3 NLT).

The Corinthians had become divided and fractured, arguing over who had the superior gift and who followed a particular leader. That prompted Paul to scold them sarcastically. 

You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us. – 1 Corinthians 4:8 NLT

They were so self-consumed that they couldn’t think about anyone but themselves. Their obsession with their superior giftedness left them puffed up with pride and unwilling to see the needs all around them.

So, in his second letter, Paul begs them to put aside their pride and “ excel also in this gracious act of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7b NLT). But he doesn’t want them to do it under coercion or as a form of compliance with a command; ist must be done in love. Giving without love is ultimately self-motivated and done to get attention. What is given is soiled by selfishness, regret, and a sense of reluctance.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught, “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get” (Matthew 6:1-2 NLT).

If you give to get praise, that is the only reward you will receive. That is what led Paul to write in his first letter, “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3 ESV).

The giving of the Corinthians was to be an extension of the grace of God, flowing through them to the believers in Judea. God’s grace is anything but selfish and self-centered; it is an expression of His love. So, by giving to the believers in Judea, the Corinthians would show the love and favor of God through their willing generosity.

Giving is to be seen not as an obligation, but as an opportunity to love others as we have been loved by God – generously, undeservedly, and graciously. In his first letter, Paul sternly reminded the Corinthians, “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?” (1 Corinthians 4:7 NLT).

They had become arrogant and prideful, seeing themselves as spiritually superior and blessed by God. But everything they enjoyed had come from God. It had all been a result of God's grace. Their giftedness was God’s doing. Their salvation had been the result of Christ’s death, not their own merit. The reality of their indebtedness to God should have created in them a sense of gratitude that manifested itself in gracious generosity. Their giving was to be a reflection of the joy they felt for all that they had been given.

We love because He first loved us. We give because He has given to us. We bless others because He has graciously blessed us.

Father, this was another painful, but much-needed reminder. Spiritual pride is always a danger for us as believers because it is so easy to view ourselves as somehow superior to others. We can become overly enamored with our status as children of God and somehow think that we are better and more deserving of Your love. But we did nothing to earn Your love or merit the gift of salvation. You loved us while we were yet sinners. You saved us because we couldn't save ourselves. You showered us with mercy and grace when we deserved wrath and judgment. So, why would we ever think we are better than anyone else? Why would we refuse to share the gift of grace with others? Open our eyes to see that everything we have has come from You, and that every gift we have received is intended to bless those around us. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Be of Good Courage

6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. – 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 ESV

Why do you do the things you do? Most likely, it is either to please yourself or to please someone else. We are either motivated by self-satisfaction or some form of people-pleasing. We are out to make ourselves feel good or to ensure that others feel good about us. But Paul introduces another motivating factor for the believer: pleasing God.

More than anything else, we should desire to do what pleases our Heavenly Father. Paul knew that a life of holiness, living set apart and consecrated to God and His purposes, was what pleased Him. He wrote to the Thessalonians: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3a ESV). God desires His people to be holy and distinctively different in their attitudes and actions. He wants them to live according to His will and in keeping with the godly guidance of His indwelling Holy Spirit.

The apostle Peter described the life of holiness as “doing good.”

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. – 1 Peter 2:15-16 ESV

He went on to say that we must abstain from certain ungodly behaviors such as sexual immorality and lustful passions. But while we “put off” unrighteousness, we must “put on” godliness. Paul echoed this sentiment when he wrote, “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you” (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 ESV).

To refuse to live a holy life is to disregard the very will of God for you. It is to willingly disobey and displease Him. But Paul insists that his primary objective in life was to please God. That was how he maintained his motivation even when doing the right thing produced the wrong reaction from others. He found the strength to endure injustice and abuse for doing God’s will because his real goal was to please God, not man.

Peter claimed that suffering was an expected part of living a godly life.

But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. – 1 Peter 2:20-21 NLT

Just as Christ suffered for doing what was right and godly, so shall we. We should not be surprised when pursuing a life of godliness in an ungodly world brings godless reactions from ungodly people.

But Paul was of good courage. Even though he found life on earth to be difficult at times, he was encouraged by his belief in the afterlife. He was buoyed by God’s promise of a life to come, and his conviction about the eternal state enabled him to live by faith, not by sight. Like the author of Hebrews, Paul knew that faith was “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV). If we live as if this world is all there is, we will lose sight of all that God has promised us for the future. But waiting on what we can’t see requires faith. That is what the 11th chapter of Hebrews is all about. The author chronicles the lives of Old Testament saints such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah and declares that their lives demonstrated faith in the promises of God. But he goes on to reveal, “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth” (Hebrews 11:13 NLT). 

Each of them had received a promise from God, yet they had to operate sight unseen, having no firm assurance that what God had promised would be fulfilled. And in most cases, they never lived to see the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise. Noah lived through the flood that destroyed the world, but did not live to see the world repopulated and restored by God. Abraham had moved to Canaan because God had promised it to him as his inheritance, but he died a landless nomad. Yet, he was “confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God” (Hebrews 11:10 NLT).

Paul was convinced that faith was essential if anyone wanted to live a life that pleased God, because “it is impossible to please God without faith” (Hebrews 11:6a NLT). 

Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 NLT.

Paul found courage in the fact that God had promised him eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ. He was encouraged by Jesus’ promise to return one day. Paul found hope in the promise of a redeemed and resurrected body, and he longed for the day when he would vacate his earthly “tent” and move into his new body, a “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (1 Corinthians 5:1b ESV).

But in the meantime, while he waited for the return of Christ or his own death, he made it his aim to live his life to please God. That meant he had to stop trying to please others or himself. He knew that there would come a day when his actions would be judged by God.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. – 1 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

On that day, every believer’s conduct in this life will be judged – every thought, action, attitude, and word will be exposed. Everything we have done since the day we accepted Christ as Savior will be assessed and evaluated as to whether it was good or evil. This has nothing to do with judgment for sin, because all our sins have been paid for by Christ. It is about whether what we have done in this life since coming to faith in Christ was godly or ungodly, righteous or unrighteous, and pleasing or displeasing to God. Did we live our lives in keeping with His will? Since His will for us is our holiness, did we allow that to be our motivating factor? Was pleasing Him our aim?

Our actions and attitudes will reveal whether our lives were pleasing to God. How we lived our lives will expose whether we were trying to please Him or whether we were living to please ourselves or others. Paul’s aim was to please God – even in this life. He made it his life-long objective to do the will of God, to live holy and set apart, and to do good even when it produced less-than-desirable outcomes. He lived by faith, not by sight, trusting in the reality of what he hoped for, yet couldn’t see: heaven and his resurrected body.

Paul actually looked forward to the judgment seat of Christ, because he was confident that his aim in life had been to please God. He was attempting to do the will of God, not men. He was striving to please God, not himself. And while that kind of lifestyle might result in troubles and tribulations in this life, it promised rewards in the life to come. Paul looked forward to hearing the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21 ESV).

Father, I want to live my life to please You, but I don’t want to do it because I think I have to earn Your favor. You have already proven Your love for me by sending Your Son to die in my place on the cross. So my attempts to please You should not be to score brownie points with You. They should be expressions of gratitude for all that You have done for me and all that You have in store for me in the future. When I live with my eyes fixed on the hope of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life, I am pleasing to You. That required faith because I can’t see the future. So, whenever I display “assurance of things hoped for” and “the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV), I am living by faith and that is pleasing to You. Help me to remember to live with the end in mind, to place my faith in Your unwavering promises for my future. I have nothing to fear and everything to look forward to. Thank You! Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Strength In Weakness

12 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. – 2 Corinthians 2:12-17 ESV

Since the moment Paul had sent his troubling letter to the Corinthians, he felt compelled to defend his movements. He has already told them, “I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea” (2 Corinthians 1:15-16 ESV). He had already made one painful visit to the city of Corinth and had no desire to do so again.

I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. – 2 Corinthians 2:1 ESV

In the meantime, he had been quite busy, traveling to Troas and on to Macedonia. The Corinthians needed to understand that they were not the only fellowship he was responsible for. Paul served as an apostle and spiritual father to many congregations. His dance card was full, and he was pulled in many different directions. He wrestled with the weighty responsibility of caring for the spiritual well-being of the new believers who made up the churches he helped found. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he described his attitude toward them.

For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. – 1 Corinthians 4:15 NLT

But when all was said and done, Paul knew his schedule was in God's hands. He was simply leading them “in triumphal procession” as they followed the will of God and the example of Christ. There might appear to be setbacks and detours, and there would most certainly be difficulties along the way, but because of Christ, the outcome was guaranteed to be victorious.

Paul was content with being the means by which God spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ everywhere he went. It really didn’t matter whether he ended up in Corinth, Troas, Macedonia, Asia, Palestine, Greece, or Rome. He knew his mission remained unchanged: to share the good news of Jesus Christ everywhere he went.

But Paul was also painfully aware that the “fragrance” of the knowledge of Christ wasn’t always pleasant to everyone who heard it. He sadly states, “to those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom” (2 Corinthians 2:16a NLT). In his first letter, the apostle Peter refers to those who refused the gospel message as “those who do not believe” and who “stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do” (1 Peter 2:7-8 ESV).

Because of sin, they are destined to condemnation and death, and eternal separation from God. In their condition, the fragrance of the gospel comes across as a stench; it isn’t good news. As Paul wrote in his first letter, “…people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means” (1 Corinthians 2:14-15 NLT).

So what do they do? If the good news is incomprehensible to them, how do they get saved? It requires regeneration. Jesus told the Pharisee, Nicodemus, “Unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3 NLT). Because of the fall, men are born spiritually dead; they are without spiritual life and condemned to remain spiritually separated from God for eternity, unless something happens to regenerate them.

In his letter to Titus, Paul reminded him that God “saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5 NLT).  J. I. Packer describes regeneration as “the spiritual change wrought in the heart of man by the Holy Spirit in which his/her inherently sinful nature is changed so that he/she can respond to God in Faith, and live in accordance with His will” (J. I. Packer, “Regeneration,” Elwell Evangelical Dictionary). 

So until the Holy Spirit regenerates the unbeliever, opening his eyes and giving him the capacity to see and comprehend the truth of the gospel, he will find the good news both onerous and odorous.

But to those who “are being saved,” the gospel and those who share it are “a life-giving perfume” (2 Corinthians 2:16b NLT). While Paul feels completely inadequate for the task, he knows he is being used by God. He has been an eyewitness to the power of the gospel, as evidenced by the changed lives of countless individuals who were once dead in their sins.

Paul wasn’t in it for the money, and he wasn’t out to make a name for himself or build up his own reputation. He was like a captive being led in a victory parade by the victorious Christ. His place in the line had been made possible by Christ. His role in the spread of the gospel was the result of Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross. So he gladly preached the word “with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us” (2 Corinthians 2:17 NLT).

He had learned to go with the flow, willingly taking the gospel wherever God directed him. He had also learned to view apparent setbacks as nothing more than God’s orchestration of His divine will. Experience had taught him to recognize his own weakness and embrace God’s all-sufficient power. He was insufficiently sufficient, and believed it when he said, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 ESV).

Near the end of his letter, he tells the Corinthians, “That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10 NLT). His outlook is reflected in the words of the classic hymn, Just A Closer Walk With Thee.

I am weak but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I'll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Thro' this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Father, we tend to see weakness as a liability, but Paul wore it like a badge of honor. He understood that his insufficiencies were the canvas on which You painted the masterpiece of redemption and spiritual transformation. He viewed himself as the featureless clay in the hands of Master Potter, who alone could fashion “vessels of honor” (2 Timothy 2:20-21) out of something of little or no value. Paul understood that his only worth came from his relationship with Christ. His pleasing “aroma” was not self-produced, but was a byproduct of his transformation by the Holy Spirit. I want to share his humble outlook and view myself as weak and unworthy apart from Christ. I want to recognize my insufficiency and gladly rest in the power and provision of Your indwelling Spirit. Give me an ever-increasing desire to live according to Your strength and not my own. When I grow doubtful and ask, “who is adequate for such a task as this?” (2 Corinthians 2:16 NLT), I want to answer with Paul, “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13 NLT). Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Grit and Grip of God’s Grace

12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. 13 For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— 14 just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you. – 2 Corinthians 1:12-14 ESV

It will become increasingly evident from the content of this letter that Paul’s ministry was being maligned or at least questioned. His motives were also under the microscope, constantly scrutinized and criticized by those who chose to reject his authority as an apostle. But Paul responds with confidence, claiming that he and his companions “behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity” (2 Corinthians 1:12 ESV). Paul writes with complete confidence, even boasting that his conscience is clear. He knows what he has done and why he has done it. He has no reason to question his motives, because he knows that his actions were the result of God’s grace, not earthly wisdom. Paul had made this claim to the Corinthians in his first letter.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. – 1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV

It was God’s unmerited favor that had produced the transformation in Paul’s life. His words, actions, and even the content of his letters were the by-product of God’s ongoing grace in his life. God was working in him and through him, and he had no reason to take credit for it or apologize because of it. Paul says that his behavior had been marked by simplicity and godly sincerity. The Greek word for simplicity is haplotēs and it refers to “the virtue of one who is free from pretense and hypocrisy” (“G572 - haplotēs - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 18 Sep, 2016. <https://www.blueletterbible.org>). Paul claims that his conduct and speech have been free of hypocrisy or any hint of a hidden agenda. What he has said and done has not been motivated by selfishness or intended for personal gain. After all, as he stated in the opening verses of his letter, his ministry had not made him rich and famous, but resulted in affliction and even the threat of death.

The Greek word translated as “sincerity” is eilikrineia, which means “purity” or “cleanness.” Paul uses this same word again in the next chapter.

For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. – 2 Corinthians 2:17 ESV

Paul’s conscience is clear because he knows his motives are pure. Anything he has accomplished in his life has been the work of the Spirit of God, and that is especially true of his relationship with and ministry to the Corinthians. Even now, as he writes this letter, he reminds them that all of his previous letters “have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can’t understand” (1 Corinthians 1:13 NLT).

It is his sincere desire that they fully comprehend what it is he is trying to say to them and all that he is attempting to teach them. They might not immediately understand, but he longed for the day when it all made sense to them. He wasn’t in it to win friends, but to make a difference in their faith. He wanted to see them experience all that God had in store for them — the full expression of faith in Christ lived out in everyday life. He longed for them to grow in godliness and to put off their old, sinful natures. He wanted to see them grow in their knowledge of God and their dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

One can get a sense of Paul’s heart by reading some of the prayers he prayed for the churches he helped to start. He wrote to the believers in Colossae:

…we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. – Colossians 1:9-11 NLT

He sent a similar message to the Christ-followers in Ephesus.

I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 1:16-20 NLT

Paul knew that if they listened to what he said and applied it to their lives, there would come a day when they would find reason to boast or glory in all that Paul had taught them, because they would see the fruit of it in their lives. The day to which Paul refers is the return of Christ, when he and all the Corinthians will stand before the Lord. It will be on that occasion that they fully comprehend the simplicity and sincerity of Paul’s methods and message.

For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. – 2 Corinthians 5:10-11 NLT

Paul’s desire for the Corinthians was the same as he had for the believers in Philippi.

…that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. – Philippians 2:15-16 ESV

Paul wanted to be a success, but not so that he could gain recognition or earthly rewards. His motivation wasn’t money or fame, it was the hope of one day standing before the Lord and seeing the fruit of his labors — the countless believers who had held fast to the word of life and remained faithful to the end. Paul’s motives were pure, his heart was sincere, and his actions were the result of God’s grace in his own life. He wanted nothing more than to see the Corinthians grow in their faith and in their knowledge of God. They might not understand it now, but the day was coming when their eyes would be opened and their hearts filled with the joy of God’s grace, mercy, and love.

Father, Paul was anything but a quiter. Despite all the setbacks, suffering, and rejections he faced in his decades-long ministry, he never gave up or threw in the towel. He traveled incessantly, preached relentlessly, and suffered greatly for his efforts. But he wasn’t bitter or resentful. He was grateful for the opportunity to serve You in spreading the good news of Christ to the nations. He was often misunderstood, misrepresented, and maligned for what he wrote and said. His motives were questioned, his integrity was attacked, and he was constantly accused of everything from heresy to sedition. But your grace gave him the strength to carry on the mission free from hypocrisy, hidden agendas, or false pretense. He operated in the power of the Holy Spirit, so his efforts were pure and pleasing in Your eyes. That’s they way I want to live my life, but it can seem so impossible. Yet, by Your grace, all things are possible. Because of Your strength, I can do all things. Never let me lose sight of that reality.   Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The God of All Comfort

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. – 2 Corinthians 1:1-7 ESV

As the title of this letter indicates, this is a second letter that Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth. Some time between the writing of the first letter and the receipt of this second one, Paul had been able to visit Corinth. Evidently, things had not gone well. His visit had been painful for both Paul and the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 2:1). There were still those in Corinth who opposed Paul and questioned his apostleship and, therefore, his authority. Later in this second letter, Paul addresses those who stood against him.

This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them—since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. – 2 Corinthians 13:1-2 ESV

It appears that Paul wrote a third letter, now lost, that he sent to the Corinthians sometime before writing 2 Corinthians. He refers to this lost letter several times.

I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you. – 2 Corinthians 2:3-4 ESV

For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. – 2 Corinthians 7:8-9 ESV

So, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians to encourage the congregation there and to continue his efforts to refute the accusations of an influential minority who questioned his authority and undermined his ministry in Corinth.

But before Paul addresses the issues in Corinth, he spends some time reminding the Corinthians of who he is and what he has endured as an apostle of Jesus Christ. His journey has not been easy. His ministry to them and to the other churches he helped found has not been without its problems. But Paul is not complaining. He is simply stating the facts and letting them know that he is grateful for the opportunity to serve them and for receiving comfort from God Himself. In verses 3-7, Paul will use a variation of the word “comfort” ten times. He will refer to “affliction” or “suffering” seven times. And each time he applies these words to himself and the other men who minister alongside him.

These opening verses offer an autobiographical look at Paul's life and ministry as he faithfully ministered the gospel, in keeping with the commission he had received from the risen Christ.

Paul refers to God as “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ESV). First of all, God is compassionate and merciful, but He is also comforting. The Greek word Paul uses is paraklesis, and it means consolation, encouragement, or refreshment. Notice its similarity to the Greek word used for the Holy Spirit: paraklētos.

Before His crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper (paraklētos), to be with you forever” (John 14:16 ESV). He refers to the coming Holy Spirit as an advocate, comforter, and intercessor. The Holy Spirit, as the third member of the Trinity, shares the same nature as God the Father and Christ the Son. And Paul experienced this comforting presence in his life as he faced the trials and afflictions that accompanied his gospel ministry.

Paul had learned to expect opposition and affliction; it came with the territory. But he rejoiced because his affliction was always accompanied by the comfort of God.

…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. – Romans 5:3-5 ESV

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known… – Colossians 1:24-25 ESV

Paul saw his sufferings as reflective of his relationship with Christ and a tangible expression of the bond he shared with his Savior.

For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. – 2 Corinthians 1:5 NLT

Paul’s sufferings were not caused by sin; they were the result of his obedience to the will of Christ. He was suffering as Christ did, for doing the will of the Father. The affliction he endured was due to obedience, not disobedience. Therefore, he could rely on the comfort and mercy of the Father. This included having his apostleship rejected by those in Corinth. As long as he was doing the will of God, Paul knew he would face opposition and experience difficulties. But he would also receive the comfort and encouragement of God, which he willingly passed on to others.

Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. – 2 Corinthians 1:6 NLT

Paul suffered, and so would they. He was comforted by God, and he passed that encouragement on to the Corinthians.

Jesus told His disciples, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:34 NLT). And just after Paul was converted on the road to Damascus, Jesus told Ananias to go and anoint him, saying, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Acts 9:15-16 NLT). Suffering is an inevitable and unavoidable part of the Christian life, but so is the comfort of God. That thought should bring us courage.

Paul’s strange message of comfort in the face of affliction was not reserved just for the Corinthians. It was something he shared with all believers, including those in Rome, because suffering for Christ isn’t just a possibility, it’s an inevitability. 

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. – Romans 5:3-5 NLT

As Jesus said, “You will have many trials and sorrows,” but we can take heart because He has “overcome the world” (John 16:34 NLT) and we serve God, “the source of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3 NLT).

Father, no one likes trials, difficulties, and sorrow. In fact, we avoid them like the plague. Yet, they are an unavoidable and inevitable part of living in a fallen world that is marred by sin. Yet, Your Son said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 ESV). I have always struggled with that verse because it seems to promise Christ-followers a trouble-free existence. But 70 years of life have convinced me He must have had something else in mind. Your Son didn’t come to earth and die on the cross so we could have out best life now; He came that we might have a life free from the condemnation of sin and the threat of eternal separation from You, His life, death, burial, and resurrection have given us new life that will one day result in eternal life. That is how we endure the any present pain and suffering we face. We keep our eye on the prize; the promise of a world made new and a sin-free existence in Your presence. And in the meantime, You extend Your mercy and provide us with comfort, and for that I am grateful. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

What To Do While We Wait

15 Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints— 16 be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. 17 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence, 18 for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such people.

19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. 20 All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

21 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. 22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. – 1  Corinthians 16:15-24 ESV

Paul wraps up his letter with a somewhat random and meandering closing. First, he recognizes three individuals, Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, who were among the first converts in Achaia, the province in which Corinth was located. Earlier in this letter, Paul indicated that Stephanas and his family were the only ones he had baptized in Corinth.

I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else. – 1 Corinthians 1:16 ESV

It seems that Stephanas and the other two had recently visited Paul and had been a source of encouragement to him. He was appreciative of their friendship and ministry and wanted the Corinthian congregation to treat them with respect. He uses these three men as examples of the kind of leadership to which the Corinthians should submit themselves. They were worthy of recognition and stood out to Paul because of their hearts for service and their attitude of humility as they ministered to him and their fellow believers in Corinth. 

Secondly, Paul sends greetings from the house church in Asia, which was meeting in the home of Aquila and Priscilla. Paul had struck up a friendship with this couple after meeting them in Corinth during one of his missionary journeys.

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. – Acts 18:1-3 ESV

This couple had ended up in Corinth after fleeing Rome due to persecution. When Paul left Corinth for Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla traveled with him and later settled in Ephesus, where they started a church in their home (Acts 18:18-20). Like Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, these two individuals were examples of the kind of disciples Paul sought to make wherever he went. They were selfless, and each had the heart of a servant. They were willing to open their home, share their resources, and give of their time to see that the gospel spread throughout the known world. And they used their trade as tentmakers to pay their own way. 

Paul gives his letter a personal touch by writing the final lines in his own handwriting. He had probably dictated the rest of the letter, but penned the last few words to validate that the letter was really from him. What he chose to write is interesting for its seeming randomness.

If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. – vs 22

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. – vs 23

My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. – vs 24

He calls for a curse on those who reject the gospel, prays for God’s grace on the Corinthians, and expresses his love for them. It’s an interesting combination of thoughts, and sandwiched in between them is an appeal for the Lord’s return:

Our Lord, come! – 1 Corinthians 16:22 ESV

Maranatha was an Aramaic expression that became a standard greeting among believers in the early days of the church. Those in the church lived with a sense of the Lord’s imminent return. Their belief that His coming could happen at any time was a motivating factor in their lives, leading them to live with a sense of anticipation and eager expectation. For Paul, the world became a place divided into believers and non-believers: those who were saved and those who remained lost. And if anyone refused to love the Lord, Paul’s response was to let them be accursed. As violent and harsh as this sounds, Paul is simply expressing the sad reality of their condition due to their rejection of the Savior. They were already under a curse, which carried the penalty of death and eternal separation from God. Paul was suggesting that their rejection of Christ would result in their rejection by God. Christ’s eventual and inevitable return would bring bad news and an even worse ending to their lives. But for Paul and the other believers in Corinth, the return of Christ was something for which they could eagerly and faithfully anticipate.

The author of Hebrews reminds us that we should have no fear of death and that we should expectantly hope for the return of Christ.

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. – Hebrews 2:14-15 NLT

In the meantime, while they awaited the Lord’s return, Paul prayed that the grace of Christ would protect them. And he would continue to love them, oftentimes in spite of them. He would continue to write them, sometimes to confront them but also to encourage them in their faith. He expressed his longing to see them face to face, so that he might personally strengthen them. As he wrote in his letter to the Romans, “I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord” (Romans 1:11 NLT).

Paul ends his letter with four powerful reminders:

First, he calls them to continue in their love for Christ, and uses the Greek word phileo, which refers to brotherly love.  He seems to be calling for an intimate, familial kind of love relationship with Jesus. The author of Hebrews described this “brotherly” relationship between Jesus and all those who have been adopted in the family of God and share the privilege of calling Him Father.

So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. For he said to God,

“I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
    I will praise you among your assembled people.” – Hebrews 2:11-12 NLT

Secondly, he encourages them to live with the end in mind, using the phrase “Our Lord, come!” as a reminder of the Lord’s certain return. This world can be a difficult place to live, but we can not only survive but thrive because we have the unwavering assurance that our salvation will culminate in our glorification when Jesus comes back.

Third, he mentions the undeserved and sustaining grace of Christ. This is the same way he began his letter. 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 1:3 ESV

Gordon D. Fee writes, “Grace is the beginning and the end of the Christian gospel; it is the single word that most fully expresses what God has done and will do for his people in Christ Jesus” (Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians).

Finally, he declares his love for them but uses the Greek word agapē, which refers to a selfless, lay-it-all-on-the-line kind of love, demonstrated by Christ’s death on the cross.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. – Romans 5:8 NLT

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. – 1 John 3:16 NLT

Paul wasn’t talking about a sentimental, Hallmark card kind of love; he was declaring a deep and compassionate affection for them that wasn’t based on their loveliness or loveableness. It was the same kind of love that Jesus demonstrated to us.

We love each other because he loved us first. – 1 John 4:19 NLT

These were all on Paul's heart as he wrapped up his letter to the Corinthians, and they should be the passion and priority of every believer in the church today.

Father, I want to love Christ more and more deeply the older I get. I want to live with the end in mind, eagerly believing that He could return at any moment. I want to grow in my understanding of and appreciation for Your marvelous grace expressed in Jesus’ death on the cross for me. And I want to emulate Your love for me by sharing that love with all those who are my brothers and sisters in Christ. As daunting as those things sound, I know they’re possible because of the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Ready, Willing, and Able

5 I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, 6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. 11 So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. .– 1 Corinthians 16:5-12 ESV

Paul was a man on the move because he was a man on a mission for God. He wrote this letter from Ephesus, where he spent three years ministering, one of his longest stops on any of his missionary journeys. He was constantly seeking opportunities to share the gospel and to help believers grow in their knowledge of God and their faith in Christ. Paul had a deep love for the churches he helped establish and saw their members as his children in the faith. He felt a special bond with them and had a strong sense of responsibility for their spiritual well-being.

In the case of Ephesus, there were “many adversaries” who were opposing his work and making life difficult for the believers there. Like a mother hen protecting her chicks, Paul was not about to leave the Ephesian believers alone and defenseless. Plus, he saw “a wide-open door for a great work” (1 Corinthians 16:9 NLT) opened to him. As long as there were unbelievers to share the gospel with and new believers who needed to grow, Paul had work to do. His job was never done. Despite pain, suffering, rejection, and seeming failure, Paul was prone to soldier on, giving everything he had to accomplish the mission given to him by Christ.

When Paul wrote his letter to the believers in Philippi, he was in prison in Rome. For a man like Paul, the real pain of imprisonment was not the conditions or confinement, but the fact that he was unable to visit the churches he loved so much. While he always knew that he could die for his faith, he was not quite ready to give up his mission.

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. – Philippians 1:20-24 NLT

This passage provides a glimpse into Paul’s heart. He longed to be bold and unashamed, even while under Roman guard. He wanted his life to honor Christ, in life or in death, and he was torn between the two. He knew it would be better if he could die and go to be with Christ, but he also knew that there was work yet to be done. Notice that he puts the Philippians' needs ahead of his own.

But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. – Philippians 1:24 NLT

In the case of the Corinthian believers, Paul longed to see them again, but he did not want it to be “in passing.” In other words, he wanted to stay with them longer, probably because he saw their spiritual needs as great. His entire letter reflects the many concerns he had about their spiritual well-being. But while Paul had to delay his visit because of the open doors in Ephesus, he had made plans to send Timothy, his young protegé and disciple in the faith, to minister to their needs. Since Paul knew that the Corinthians were prone to judging by appearances and were already struggling with divisions over leadership (1 Corinthians 3:4), he reminded them to “see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. So let no one despise him” (1 Corinthians 16:10-11 ESV).

Timothy was young and easily intimidated. Which is why Paul had told him, “Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity” (1 Timothy 4:12 NLT).

Verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 16 contains Paul’s  sixth and final use of the phrase, “now concerning…” In each instance, he has used it to answer a question or concern raised by the Corinthians.  

Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. – 1 Corinthians 16:12 ESV

It’s unclear what the issue was with Apollos, but we know that a group in the church in Corinth considered him their leader. They may have been wondering when Apollos would return to see them. In fact, they may have preferred his presence to Paul's. But rather than being offended, Paul simply stated that he had urged Apollos to visit them, but for some reason Apollos had chosen not to. Paul didn’t throw Apollos under the bus or malign him in any way. For Paul, it was not a competition; it was about sharing the gospel and building up the body of Christ. As he stated earlier in this letter, “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6 NLT). Paul assured them that Apollos would come when he had the opportunity.

In the meantime, Paul cited his longing to be with them again. He knew there was much work that needed to be done in Corinth. The church was divided, and the people were immature and misusing their spiritual gifts. Selfishness and pride were evident among them, and the influence of paganism and Hellenistic dualism was having a negative impact on the fellowship. All of this would result in Paul’s eventual return. As long as there were immature believers who needed to grow and lost individuals who needed to hear the gospel, Paul would find a way to return to Corinth.

The door was wide open, and he was more than willing to walk through it. For Paul, there was no rest for the weary, no retirement plans, and no time for an extended vacation. Open doors are meant to be entered. Opportunities needed to be taken advantage of. Pressing needs required immediate attention. And Paul was always reading, willing, and able.

Father, give me the determination and energy of Paul. He was like the Energizer Bunny; he kept going and going and going. He never gave up or threw in the towel. Even after being stoned and left for dead, he got up and went back to ministering the gospel. He was a workhorse and a tireless proponent of the faith who walked the talk. He knew what it was like to be tired, but he refused to let weariness keep him from doing Your will. He was well-acquiainted with rejection and suffering, but he never took his eye off the prize. I want to live according to his mantra: “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good” (Galatians 6:9 NLT), but I know I can only do it in Your strength and as long as I am doing Your will. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Lasting Legacy of Love

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:9-13 ESV

We live in an interim stage. The “perfect,” as Paul refers to it, has not yet come. The Greek word he uses is teleios, and it refers to “wanting nothing necessary to completeness.” It can also refer to a  “full-grown, adult, of full age, mature.” He uses the contrast of childhood and adulthood to illustrate the difference between our present circumstances and the eternal state that awaits us.

In our current fallen condition, our understanding is limited; we don’t know everything because of the limitations of our flesh. So God has provided the spiritual gifts to compensate for our lack of knowledge and understanding. The gifts to tongues, knowledge, and prophecy are present-age necessities designed to help man grasp the reality of God’s truth. But the day is coming when they will no longer be necessary.

The apostle John acknowledged that our present understanding is limited, but assured us that our future glorification is guaranteed by the promise of Christ’s returns. 

Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. – 1 John 3:2 NLT

Paul explains that the gifts, while given by God, are like childhood qualities that we will one day outgrow. We will give up “childish ways” because we will be fully mature in Christ. In the meantime, we are hampered by a limited, earth-bound, flesh-restricted perspective that prevents us from comprehending the full truth of who God is and what we will one day be. In our current state as humans, we have partial knowledge and suffer from incomplete understanding. So God provided the gifts of the Spirit so that we might discern spiritual reality and edify one another with it.

Jesus promised His disciples the coming of the Holy Spirit and assured them that the Spirit would help them understand “all truth.”

“But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’” – John 16:5-7, 13-15 NLT

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul describes our current condition by likening our earthly bodies to tents. They are like temporary dwellings we are forced to live in, much like the Israelites lived in tents during the 40 years they wandered in the wilderness.

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. –2 Corinthians 5:1-7 NLT

Paul wanted the Corinthians to know that their hope was to be focused on the future, not the present. But in the meantime, they were to live according to faith, hope, and love. Their faith was to be focused on God’s promise of the final fulfillment of their salvation, when they would be glorified and united with Christ in sinless perfection. As they lived in their temporary “earthly tents,” they were to place their hope on that future reality.

The author of Hebrews tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV). We hope in the promise of that which we cannot see, our future glorification. As Paul says, “we live by believing and not by seeing” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NLT). But our determination to live by faith and hope in that which we cannot see is accompanied by love. In fact, he says that love is superior to either faith or hope. When Christ returns and our glorification takes place, faith and hope will no longer be necessary. The unseen will have become visible. We will see Christ as He is, and we will recognize that we have become like Him.

But in our newly glorified state, we will comprehend the truth that love never ends. We will know and experience the love of God throughout eternity because it is His very nature and essence. We will love and be loved, and exist in a ceaseless environment of perfect love, unhindered by sin and no longer influenced by pride, hatred, selfishness, or greed.

The Corinthians were obsessed with the gifts, but for the wrong reasons. Failing to understand the God-ordained purpose of the gifts, they viewed them as spiritual badges of honor. Rather than using these supernatural manifestations of the Spirit’s power to edify and build one another up, they used them to gain precedence and importance over one another. They failed to recognize their God-given purpose to enlighten and encourage the body of Christ. And the missing ingredient in their misapplication of the gifts was love.

That is why Paul reminds them that love trumps all. It is superior to all the gifts and a non-negotiable requirement in the life of every believer, even now. We don’t have to wait until heaven to experience God's unwavering and unmerited love. When we utilize the gifts He has given to us, we express His love to one another. We become vessels through which the love of God flows, encouraging one another to stay strong until the end, as we lovingly share and care for one another. Not only were the gifts intended to reveal God’s truth, but they were meant to express His love in tangible and practical ways.

Paul closes out this letter with some powerful words of encouragement that emphasize our need for healthy blend of faith, steadfastness, and love.

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. – 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV

We live in the now, a time of uncertainty and, at times, pain and difficulty. Our current circumstances require faith, hope, strength, endurance, and patience. But none of these will be effective or beneficial if we fail to love. Love brings heaven to earth by making the future a present reality, the unseen visible, and our hope tangible.

Father, nothing trumps love. All the gifts in the world mean nothing without it. Our good deeds, if done without love, are worthless and of no value to anyone. Our eloquent words, if spoken without love, are nothing but “sound and fury, signifying nothing.” When we love others, we’re expressing Your character and passing on that which is the most impactful power on earth. But there are times when we would rather impress than impart love. There are moments when we would prefer stand in the limeliight and receive recognition, rather than stand in the shadows and love well without reward. Give us an eternal perspective that allows us to see that love is the only thing that will last the test of time. Love is the only currency of heaven that can be spent now and produce a return on investment that will last for eternity. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Protection For Our Affections

15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? – 1 Corinthians 10:15-22 ESV

As far as Paul is concerned, this is all about our affections; it is about what we love and choose to prioritize in our lives. As Paul addresses the issue of idols and meat sacrificed to them, he is not implying that the idols actually represent other gods. In fact, he says that when the pagans offer sacrifices to their idols, they are actually sacrificing to demons. The fact that the gods they worshiped were non-existent did not make their activity any less sinful. They were giving their affections to something they believed existed. They were associating themselves with a god who represented an alternative to the one true God, and they were joining with those who shared their beliefs, participating in worship and the offering of sacrifices together. When they held their feasts, they were doing so with those who were of like mind.

Paul uses the Lord’s Table to illustrate what he means. Paul asks the Corinthians to consider that when they take the cup and the bread together as part of communion, “is it not a participation in the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:16 ESV)? The Lord’s Table was a common celebration and commemoration of their shared belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. When the Israelites made sacrifices to God at the altar in the Tabernacle or Temple, did they not do so with a sense of shared belief in God? And Paul insists that the pagans are doing the very same thing. By participating together in their sacrificial services, feasts, and celebrations, they express their common bond as worshipers of their particular god, whether that god is false or real. And when the Corinthians joined them in their celebrations, they were aligning themselves with the pagan worshipers and their false gods, or, as Paul indicates, demons.

“Paul’s line of reasoning proceeds as follows: Christians who eat the bread at the Lord’s Supper express their solidarity with one another and with Christ. Likewise, Jews who ate the meat of animals offered in the sacrifices of Judaism expressed their solidarity with one another and with the God of Israel. Therefore Christians who eat the meat offered to pagan gods as part of pagan worship express their solidarity with pagans and with the pagan deities.” – Thomas L. Constable, Notes of 1 Corinthians, 2007 Edition

There is a spiritual dimension to virtually everything we do. We are spiritual beings, and there is a spiritual battle taking place all around us, hidden from our view, but as real as the air we breathe. Paul warned the Ephesians about this spiritual war.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12 NLT

There is very little in life that is not impacted and influenced by this unseen spiritual conflict. While we may view a particular action or activity as amoral, being neither right nor wrong and not prohibited by God, we need to walk carefully. It is essential that we examine our motives and check our affections. We need to ask ourselves why this activity is so important to us. Would we be unwilling to give it up if the circumstances required it? There were those in the Corinthian church who were eating meat that had been sacrificed to false gods. They were even participating alongside pagan worshipers at the feasts associated with those false gods. But their rationale was that these gods did not exist, so their activity was perfectly acceptable. However, Paul warns them that if their participation caused a brother or sister in Christ to stumble, they were wrong. Not only that, but by joining in the feasts alongside idol worshipers, they were expressing unity with them. To the rest of the world, both pagan and Christian, they appeared to be one with those who worship false gods. And as if that was not bad enough, Paul indicates that they are really associating themselves with demons.

There are many things we are free to do as followers of Jesus Christ. But that does not mean that all of them are things we should do. We are free to read books other than the Bible, but it is imperative that we give thought to the content of the books that we read. As believers, we are free to watch TV and movies, but not every show is one we should expose ourselves to. We need to examine the content and consider the message it sends. There are very few movies that do not have an agenda. The world we live in is heavily influenced by the unseen spiritual battle taking place behind the scenes. Satan will use any resource available to him to influence our affections and diminish our dedication to God.

It always goes back to our affections. When God commanded the Israelites to have no other gods but Him, He was not suggesting that these gods actually existed. He simply knew that He had wired mankind for worship. God’s intention was that humanity share its affections with Him, but men and women are fully capable of giving those affections away.

When the Pharisees asked Jesus to name which was the greatest commandment given by God, He responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37 ESV). The most daunting challenge we face as Christians involves our affections. Do we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind? The answer is no, because we can’t. We are incapable of doing so. But that does not mean we should not try to make it a high priority in our lives.

The enemy wants to get our minds off of God and to distract our affections from God. He wants our souls to be satisfied by something other than God. There is a spiritual battle taking place all around us, and Satan subtly uses the seemingly innocuous and inconspicuous things of this world to deceive us. Our failure to believe in the demonic realm does not make it non-existent. Just because we don’t see the spiritual warfare taking place all around us doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Because the battle is invisible, we need to arm ourselves with the spiritual weapons God provides. We need spiritual discernment and divine assistance to fight an invisible yet real battle. That is why Paul told the Ephesians, “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm” (Ephesians 6:13 NLT).

God offers us protection for our affections and a way of escape from every temptation.

God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. – 1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

Father, we live under constant siege from the enemy, but sometimes act as if the battle is not even real. Through compromise and complacency, we make alliances with the enemy and allow his subtle lies to dilute our faith and diminish our dependence on You. If we refuse to spend time in Your Word, we will be easy prey for the enemy’s deception. We will find ourselves defenseless and powerless to resist his temptations. He loves to deceive us and cause us to compromise our convictions. He doesn’t waste his time trying to get us to walk away from the faith; he simply tries to make our faith a non-factor in the way we walk. But You have called us to live set-apart lives that reflect Your character and demonstrate the Spirit’s power within us. Don’t allow us to compromise or grow complacent. Keep us alert to the enemy’s lies and more determined than ever to live according to the truth of Your Word. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

No Other Gods

7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. – 1 Corinthians 10:7-14 ESV

As far as Paul was concerned, the Corinthians had a far too casual approach to sin. He has already chastised them for their laissez-faire approach to the sexual sin that was taking place in their midst.

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans. – 1 Corinthians 5:1 ESV

It appears that they were overly tolerant and dangerously permissive when it came to sin, even among members of their own fellowship. Not only that, but they had developed an unhealthy arrogance regarding their own spirituality and standing before God. Which is what led Paul to warn them, “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12 NLT). In an attempt to get their attention, Paul resorted to using the Israelites as an object lesson. Their status as God’s chosen people had not prevented them from sinning or protected them from God’s punishment. They had enjoyed all the privileges and blessings of God’s favor, but had proven to be unfaithful in the end. So, Paul warns the Corinthians, “Do not be idolaters as some of them were” (1 Corinthians 10:7a ESV).

Like the Corinthians, the Israelites had been redeemed from a culture in which idol worship was commonplace. In Egypt, the Israelites had been surrounded by a plethora of false gods, and the ten plagues were directed against many of them. In His outpouring of the plagues, God had proven Himself superior to the false gods of Egypt, providing convincing evidence to the Israelites that He was the one true God. But in the end, even after their miraculous deliverance from captivity in Egypt, they resorted to idol worship. They went back to what they found familiar and comfortable. 

The Corinthians found themselves in similar circumstances. Most, if not all of them, had pagan backgrounds. They had been idol worshipers when Paul and others had brought the good news of Jesus Christ to their city. As a result of God’s grace, they had been redeemed from slavery to sin and delivered from their hopeless worship of false gods. However, some in the congregation continued to dabble in idolatry. They were eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols, and some were attending the feasts where this high-quality fare was served. This is what led Paul to say, “flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14b ESV). When it came to idolatry, they were not to dabble with it, cozy up to it, or have anything to do with it. That included attending any feasts associated with the worship of false gods.

Paul knew the Corinthians had a problem with compromise. They had already compromised their moral convictions, and it was not impossible to think that they might compromise their worship of Yahweh through their continued association with idols and justifying their actions as harmless.

Again, Paul uses the Israelites as an example.

The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry. – 1 Corinthians 10:7 NLT).

This refers to the time when Moses was on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments from God and, in his absence, the Israelites forced Aaron to make a golden calf for them to worship. Moses recorded the events surrounding that infamous day.

So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. – Exodus 32:3-6 ESV

God was angered by their actions and told Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you” (Exodus 32:9-10 ESV).

They were arrogant, prideful, and lacked any fear of God. They failed to honor and revere Him despite all He had done for them. They demanded that Aaron fashion a new version of Yahweh in a form that was more approachable and controllable. In doing so, they turned their backs on the one and only God of the universe. At the end of the day, that is what idolatry really is; it is turning to something other than God as our source of provision, power, significance, and security. It doesn’t have to be a golden calf.; we can end up worshiping our career, family, finances, talents, or even our status as God’s chosen people. In other words, we can easily resort to worshiping our salvation instead of our Savior. We can put our hope in our eternal security rather than in the one who made eternal life possible. 

Paul warns us against developing a casual attitude toward idolatry because idol worship is nothing less than unfaithfulness to God. It is a form of spiritual adultery, making more of something or someone else other than God. Tim Kellerprovide a succinct definition of idolatry in his book, Counterfeit Gods.

“What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give…

“An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship.” – Tim Keller, Countefeit Gods

The Israelites were disciplined by God for their unfaithfulness. They put God to the test, “and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day” (1 Corinthians 10:8 ESV). And Paul warns us, “We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:9-10 ESV).

Just because we are in Christ, doesn’t mean we have the right to insult Christ by giving our affections and attentions to something or someone other than Him. We are to flee from idolatry in all its forms. The Corinthians were worshiping their right to eat meat sacrificed to idols. It wasn’t that they were worshiping the idols to whom the meat was sacrificed. They were elevating their freedom to enjoy the pleasures of this life over their submission to the will of God for their life. We cannot afford to get cocky or comfortable. Which is why Paul warns us, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12 ESV).

We each face the constant temptation to worship something other than God. But, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV). Fleeing idolatry is a form of faithfulness. It shows God that we refuse to worship anything or anyone other than him. We would rather run from idolatry, in all its forms, than run the risk of offending a holy and righteous God.

Father, sometimes we think idolatry is not a problem for us because we don’t have figurines of false deities sitting on our fireplace mantle. But as Tim Keller pointed out, idolatry is “anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” According to that definition, we all have god replacements or stand-ins that we turn to for hope, help, happiness, contentment, or significance. Our careers, families, finances, and health can all becomes gods we turn to other than You. We worship them by giving them far more attention and time than we dedicate to You. They are where we turn in times of trouble. They are the source of our assurance when times are tough and our faith is wavering. But Paul tells us to run, not walk, from these subtle forms of idolatry because they are deceptive and deadly. You made it clear when You said, ““You must not have any other god but me” (Exodus 20:3 NLT). But we still have the tendency to replace the one true God with false gods that will never deliver what they promise. Help us keep our eyes and our hopes set on You alone. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

How Firm a Foundation

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. – 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 ESV

For Paul, the issue was first, always, and only Christ. Ever since his personal and life-changing encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, he had made it his life’s mission to carry the message of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone to the world. Here, he refers to Jesus Christ as the foundation, the solid rock on which believers are to build the rest of their lives. It is belief in the gospel message of salvation through Jesus that provides the bedrock upon which a truly worthy life can be built. Paul likely had in mind the parable that Jesus told His disciples.

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” – Matthew 7:24-27 NLT

Our faith in Jesus has a starting and ending point. It begins when we place our faith in Him, but it does not stop there. We are to build our lives with Jesus as the foundation. Paul boldly claimed to have helped lay the proper foundation by preaching Christ and Him crucified. He had given the believers in Corinth the truth regarding salvation through Christ and Him alone, and they had received it. Now it was time for them to do something with their faith; they were to build on it.

Their faith was to produce fruit, tangible, visible, and measurable fruit. Whatever they built on the foundation of their faith would be discernible to all those around them. The value of the construction materials they used would be apparent to all. Speaking metaphorically, Paul says that some would use gold, silver, and precious stones — objects of worth and beauty. But others would choose to use wood, hay, and straw — materials with little value or staying power. The second group illustrates those who cut corners and refuse to invest adequately, either out of laziness or a lack of concern. Their faith means so little to them that they refuse to invest the time and resources it deserves. James describes these two groups well.

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” – James 2:17-18 NLT

Christ crucified is the fundamental basis of our faith, but our actions are to rest on that firm foundation. The actions and attitudes that mark our lives should be built on the reality of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection and be visible to all those around us. James refers to these salvation-based behaviors as “good deeds.” They are meant to impact all those around us. They can be seen and experienced by others. And, one day, they will be judged by God.

Paul reminds us, “each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done” (1 Corinthians 3:13 ESV). In his second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV). The Greek word Paul uses is βῆμα (bēma). It refers to “the official seat of a judge” (“G968 - bēma - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). The “day” to which Paul refers is that day when all believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ - the Bema Seat. On that day, we will have our work judged. This is a reference to all those things we have done since coming to faith in Christ. This is not a judgment to determine righteousness. We will stand before God fully forgiven and completely righteous because of Christ’s death for us on the cross. But each person’s works will be judged as to their value and worth, and they will “receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” 

What we do with our faith in Christ is essential and has long-term implications. That is why Paul was concerned about the role that teachers played in the spiritual growth of the body of Christ. That is why he warns, “whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful” (1 Corinthians 3:10 NLT). His whole focus in the section of his letter is on the tendency of the Corinthians to put too much stock in their preferred spiritual teacher or mentor. But Paul is trying to get them to realize that good teachers will build on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. When we elevate the role of men in our spiritual growth, we risk constructing a life that looks good but fails to reflect the life-transforming power of the gospel. That is what led Paul to say, “no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11 NLT). Paul boldly declared, “I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it” ( 1 Corinthians 3:10 ESV). But then he warns, Let each one take care how he builds upon it” (1 Corinthians 3:10 ESV). 

That is the whole point of this section. Paul wants his readers to understand that the foundation of their faith is non-negotiable. Christ crucified and resurrected is the key to their salvation, sanctification, and future glorification. And what we or anyone else attempts to build upon our faith in Christ must have lasting value. If we use our faith in Christ to build a life marked by selfishness, greed, materialism, hate, bigotry, pride, and hypocrisy, others will see it, and one day Christ will expose and judge us for it. Those worthless works will be burned up. They will be proven to be of no eternal value because they were done in the flesh, and not in the power of the Spirit of God.

But if we build a life that is marked by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control, others will see it and Christ will one day reward us for it. Those deeds are the fruit of the Spirit. They will last and survive the fire of God’s judgment because, like gold, silver, and precious stones, they are priceless and eternal.

What we build upon our faith in Christ is extremely important and reveals a lot about us. It shows the condition of our hearts and the priorities of our lives. Our salvation provides us with a solid and secure foundation. We have the assurance of our eternal security and no longer have to worry about future condemnation or fear of death. But that should motivate us to live lives that are worthy of our calling. We should desire that our behavior reflects our status as God’s children and the presence of God’s Spirit within us. That is why, in the very next verse, Paul asks, “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 NLT).

God has provided the foundation. The Spirit provides the fruit. And all we are required to bring to the equation is our faith. But our faith must become tangible and discernible, testifying to the change that has taken place within us. That is what James meant when he wrote, “faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless” (James 2:17 NLT). Fruitless faith is baseless faith; it is a dead and lifeless faith. But Paul insists that when one has true, saving faith and builds their life upon it, they will end up displaying behavior that stands out and survives the test of God’s judgment. 

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?  

Father, You care just as much about our sanctification as You do our salvation. You saved us so that You might transform us into the likeness of Your Son. You redeemed us so that You might continually reform and renew us. It is a process and it takes time. It also requires our participation. We must build on our faith. There is no place for complacency in the life of a believer. You expect ongoing transformation and so should we. But we must be careful how we build on the foundation that Christ provided. What we fill our minds with will have a direct impact on the quality and spirituality of our lives. We can start with a firm foundation of faith, but if we build on it with shoddy materials, we will end up with a “house” of cards that fails to reflect that transformative power of the gospel. Keep us firmly committed to and dependent upon the the reality of Christ crucified for our sins and resurrected for our sanctification. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Wisdom From Above

6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—

10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. – 1 Corinthians 2:6-13 ESV

Earlier in this same chapter, when Paul wrote, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2 ESV), he was stating that the knowledge of and belief in Christ and His death was all he needed to know. The very wisdom of God was revealed to men through the crucifixion of Jesus and was sufficient to restore men to a right relationship with Him. It was a secret and hidden wisdom that had been unknowable until the point that God revealed it to men through His Spirit. Paul claimed that if the rulers in power when Jesus was alive had understood this wisdom, they would not have crucified Him. But in their limited human wisdom, they had no way of knowing that Jesus really was the Son of God and the Savior of the world.

From Pontius Pilate and Herod the king to the high priest of Israel, none of them were able to recognize who Jesus was and what God was doing through Him. Their human wisdom proved insufficient. And while they believed they were doing the right thing by eliminating Jesus as a threat to their way of life, they were actually accomplishing the divine will of God. Peter made this point clear in his prayer after having been released from arrest by the high priest for preaching the resurrection of Jesus.

“For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” – Acts 4:27-28 ESV

Only those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ and acknowledged Him as the Son of God who died on the cross in their place can recognize the wisdom of God in this seemingly hopeless event. Only the Spirit of God can make sense of the wisdom behind Jesus’ death. It was not until the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples at Pentecost that they were able to recognize the wisdom behind God’s plan of redemption. Jesus had to die. Without His death, there would have been no means for men to be restored to a right relationship with God. As the writer of Hebrews states, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22 ESV).

In the days immediately following Jesus’ crucifixion, His death made no sense to His disciples. In their minds, the whole cause for which they had signed up had been an abysmal failure. Their long-awaited Messiah had been murdered, and all hopes tied to His kingdom died with Him. His death meant the death of their dreams.

But they had been wrong. Their disappointment in Jesus’ unexpected death would be replaced with delight and joy. They would soon learn that God’s ways are not our ways. His wisdom is greater than our own. His Son’s death, viewed as a tragedy from the perspective of the disciples, was actually a victory over sin and death. In facing death on the cross, Jesus was not a helpless victim, but He was actually a conquering King. As Paul states later on in this letter:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
   “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ESV

Quoting from the prophet, Isaiah, Paul states, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV). The death of Jesus was part of God’s divine redemptive plan long before the creation of the world. Even before sin entered the world, God had ordained that His Son would die for the sins of mankind. And our ability to see and comprehend this truth is made possible by the Spirit of God. It is only with the help of the Spirit of God that man can understand the wisdom of God. Otherwise, it all sounds like foolishness. As Paul stated earlier, “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24 ESV).

The only way we can comprehend the wisdom of God displayed in Christ’s death on the cross is through the insight provided by the Spirit of God. He is the one who helps us “understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12 ESV). As the Spirit of God, He alone understands the thoughts and ways of God and reveals to us the wisdom of God, “interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13 ESV).

Paul’s use of the phrase “those who are spiritual” is not a reference to those who happen to be spiritually more mature or further along in their faith. He is referring to all those who have placed their faith in Christ and in whom God has placed His Spirit. It is the presence of God’s Spirit within us that makes us spiritual. He provides us with the capacity to understand the mind of God and “searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets” (1 Corinthians 2:10b NLT). It is the Spirit of God who helps us comprehend the wisdom behind the cross of Christ. With His assistance, we can understand how death brought about life, how tragedy resulted in victory, how our condemnation has turned into a guarantee of our future glorification, and how we can enjoy God’s unfailing love rather than His inescapable wrath.

God reminds us that His wisdom and ways are incomprehensible and incomparable.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. – Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

But the Spirit’s indwelling presence provides us with the capacity to know and understand God. His infinite wisdom makes sense to us because His Spirit interprets His thoughts and instructs us in His ways. 

Father, without Your Spirit, none of this would make sense. When we share the good news of Jesus Christ to others, they often respond with doubt and even disdain. The idea of a Jewish Rabbi dying on a cross and then being restored to life sounds illogical and fanciful. To them, the thought of this man’s death and resurrection providing eternal life to all those who believe sounds like a fairytale. But to me, it makes all the sense in the world. I not only believe it, but I am counting on it. Your Spirit has given me the ability to comprehend and believe in the mystery of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. While the news of Jesus’ crucifixion is “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23 BSB), it is the source of my strength and the cause of my hope. But without Your Spirit’s help, I would be unable to understand the wisdom of Your ways revealed in Christ’s finished work on the cross. Thank You! Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Making Much of Man Makes No Sense

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. – 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 ESV

It was A. W. Tozer who said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy). Our theology will have a direct impact on how we live our lives, and a faulty view of God will end up dramatically influencing our behavior. That was the situation in Corinth and the reason why Paul mentioned God six times and Jesus Christ ten times in the first ten verses alone. He was refocusing their attention back to the nature of their relationship with God the Father and His Son. They were members of the church of God. They belonged to Him, and their very existence was due to Him. Their salvation was the result of His grace and the sacrificial death of His Son. They enjoyed fellowship with God because Christ paid their sin debt with His own life. So, they owed all that they were to God and His Son.

Yet, they were guilty of worshiping men and had become a house divided. It had come to Paul’s attention that divisive cliques had developed within the church in Corinth. People were taking sides and aligning themselves with different leaders, claiming superiority based on who it was that they followed. Some bragged about their relationship with Apollos. Others claimed allegiance to Cephas (Peter). Much to his dislike, some boasted that Paul was their leader. Then some claimed the high road, claiming to be followers of Christ. The end result was petty arguing and prideful posturing. They had missed the point. It wasn’t supposed to be about Apollos, Paul, or Cephas. None of them had been crucified to pay for the sins of mankind. And neither Apollos, Paul, nor Cephas were preaching their own message of salvation. Instead, each was acting as a messenger of God, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.

Paul believed that a proper view of God should produce proper behavior. If people had an accurate understanding of God and a future-based focus on His plan of redemption, they would not put all their hopes in this life. They would be less likely to make more of the messenger than the message. God had been using Paul, Cephas, and Apollos, but they were simply the bearers of the good news of Jesus Christ. However, the Corinthians had turned these men into celebrities, and this growing cult of personality was dividing the church. The worship of man was inadvertently replacing the proper worship of God. Without realizing it, the believers in Corinth were boasting in men rather than God and attributing their salvation to men, instead of God. This human-based emphasis tended to focus their attention on the here-and-now rather than the hereafter. Arguing over the significance of who baptized them had become far more important to them than why they had been baptized in the first place. They had given their favorite preacher more prominence than they rightfully deserved, and Paul was going to make sure that they saw the error of their way.

The Corinthian believers were just as susceptible to hero worship as we are. They were making much of the messenger, with some naturally attracted to Paul while others found Apollos more appealing. Some found Cephas’ style more to their liking. But they had all allowed their personal preferences to become points of contention, leading to division within the church. They were elevating style over substance. But Paul was determined to make more of the message than the messenger. In the very next chapter, he writes,

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV

It wasn’t about Paul’s preaching style or oratory skills. It wasn’t about his persuasive powers or ability to craft a clever sermon; it was about Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The focus of the message of the gospel is, as it always has been, the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is about the God-ordained, Spirit-empowered transformation of men’s lives who have placed their faith in Christ, the one who died in their place and on their behalf. When we care more about the messenger than we do about the message, we become guilty of idol worship. When we prefer style over substance, we move from having our hearts transformed to having our ears tickled. We want to be entertained and satisfied, rather than sanctified. We find ourselves living for the moment, hoping our favorite preacher will keep us interested for an hour, while God would rather have us living with a much loftier goal: Our ongoing sanctification and future glorification.

One of the most dangerous enemies of the body of Christ is any kind of division or internal strife that creeps into its midst. Infighting and internal dissension can be highly destructive to the unity of a local fellowship. That's why Paul immediately addresses a situation going on within the body of believers in Corinth. News of the quarrels taking place between believers forced Paul to deal with it at the very beginning of his letter. Paul doesn’t go into great detail regarding the cause of these factions, but it probably had something to do with the role each of these individuals had played in the conversion of the various church members. If someone had been led to faith by Apollos, they naturally held him in high esteem and viewed him as their mentor. If Paul had been the one to lead them to Christ, they would have developed a natural affinity and affection for him. So people were more than likely choosing sides based on the role these men had played in their spiritual birth and development. It had led to arguments and an unhealthy situation within the church.

But Paul calls them out, exposing the danger of their infighting, and demands that they seek unity. He pleads with them, "Be of one mind, united in thought and purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10 NLT). There was no place within the body of Christ for factions of any kind, especially man-centered "fan clubs" that seemingly elevated individuals to the same status as Jesus Himself.

In the case of Corinth, some of these people were calling themselves followers of man, rather than followers of Christ. Somewhere along the way, they had missed the point. Paul, Cephas, and Apollos were simply tools that God had used to bring the gospel to the Corinthians and assist them in their spiritual growth. These men were essential to the process, but were never intended to be afforded rock star status. But it happens all the time. Cults of personality exist in churches all across the country, with people becoming followers of men rather than followers of Christ. In larger churches with larger staffs, you can end up with factions based on the particular minister or ministry heads and the role they play in the lives of various individuals. Younger people can end up with a natural affinity for younger pastors. Older members of the congregation might tend to prefer a minister closer to their age demographic. If a particular minister played a role in someone's salvation, it is only natural for that individual to hold that pastor in higher regard. But all of this can lead to divisions and a lack of unity. Again, that is why Paul appealed to them to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

Unity and division were common topics in many of the letters Paul wrote to the various churches he helped to found. Disunity was always a threat to the integrity and health of these new congregations. In his book, The Story of God As Revealed in the Holy Bible For All Mankind, Raymond Anderegg writes, "…the apostles make it clear that two of the biggest threats to the kingdom of God are false teachers and division within the Church, and both threats are treated as equally important. Thus, two of the worst sins a Christian can commit are to reject the gospel of Jesus Christ for another gospel (religion) and to cause strife and division among our brethren, the body, or Church, of Christ."

Disunity is destructive. Division is deadly. It robs the church of its power. It diminishes the body of Christ's influence among the lost, providing the enemy a foothold and an opportunity to sow strife and dissension in place of love and forgiveness. Christianity is not a man-centered religion based on personality, but a Christ-centered faith based on His sin-defeating work on the cross on our behalf. When we start making the church a cult of personality by making much of men, we diminish the sufficiency and singularity of Christ as the sole focus of our faith.

Father, from the very beginning, humans have struggled with a self-focused obession that strives to make ourselves the point of the story. We tend to worship ourselves or someone else instead of You. We find it easy to make much of men and elevate them to positions of prominence and importance because it gives us hope for ourselves. But it was never meant to be about us. We make lousy gods and even worse saviors. We are incapable of providing long-term, sustainable help and hope for anyone, including ourselves. That is why You sent Your Son, and we are to make much of Him. We are to worship Him and Him alone. Forgive us for the divisions and silly factions we create based on personalities. Help us remember that we are followers of Christ and no one else. Create in us a unity that is focused on Him alone. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Set Apart But Not To Stand Alone

1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. – 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 ESV

Paul begins this letter in his usual manner. The first thing he does is introduce himself, which was a common letter-writing style in Paul’s day. It was not because the recipients of the letter did not know him, because he had actually lived among them for 18 months (Acts 18:11) after he had helped found the church in Corinth on his second missionary journey. Paul’s point in re-introducing himself was to establish his calling as an apostle of God. This will become an important factor as his letter unfolds. This letter was likely written from Ephesus, where Paul spent three years on his third missionary journey.

Paul was cordial, even complimentary, in his greeting to the believers in Corinth. But there was a subtle, underlying purpose behind his words. He referred to them as “the church of God in Corinth.” This, too, will prove to have a purpose behind it. Paul wanted them to understand that they belonged to God and no one else. He was preparing to deal with a problem of division that had made its way into the church there. He refers to them as being “sanctified in Christ Jesus” and as “saints.” He uses two words, ἁγιάζω (hagiazō) and ἅγιος (hagios), to describe the believers in Corinth. At salvation, they had been set apart as God and dedicated for His purposes, so they belonged to Him. This also made them saints, or set-apart ones ("G37 - hagiazō, G40 - hagios - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV)." Blue Letter Bible). They no longer belonged to themselves or to this world. And yet, as Paul eventually points out in this letter, they were not living up to their calling as saints. Their actions did not reflect their set-apartness.

Paul’s emphasis in the opening of his letter is on God. He even thanks God for all He has done to bring the Corinthians to faith. It had been God who extended grace to them by allowing them to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. The “testimony about Christ was confirmed” among them (1 Corinthians 1:6 ESV) as they came to faith in Christ and their lives were radically transformed. The believers in Corinth had received the gift of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts He provides. In fact, Paul states that they were “not lacking in any gift” (1 Corinthians 1:7 ESV). God had been good to them; He had called them, and He would be faithful to continue His work among them, and would sustain them to the end. The problem, Paul seems to be saying, was not with God, but with them. It was the Corinthians who were proving to be unfaithful. They had lost sight of their unique standing as God’s holy, set-apart people. His calling on their lives had taken a back seat to their own selfish agendas and worldly outlooks on life. They were missing the point.

Paul was preparing to deal harshly with his readers and was setting them up so that he might call them out. He would tolerate their behavior. The honor of God and the integrity of the gospel were at stake. Their behavior was not in keeping with their status as God’s chosen people. Rather than living as set apart and distinctly different from the world around them, they were allowing themselves to blend in and take on the ungodly characteristics of the society in which they lived. Their professed beliefs and their behavior were inconsistent and contradictory. There was a disconnect between their faith and daily practice. Their spiritual talk and their daily walk were in conflict. So Paul started his letter by reminding them of who they were and to whom they belonged. Later in this same letter, he writes, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV). 

Paul was about to call out the called-out ones. He was going to sit down the set-apart ones and give them a piece of his mind – in love. He would not tolerate their actions or excuse their sinful attitudes. God had sacrificed His Son on their behalf, paying a high price for their salvation. So, Paul was not willing to sit back and watch them waste God’s grace or bring shame to His name. Their profession of faith needed to show up in their walk and talk. Their conduct needed to match their confession. Their status as sons and daughters of God was to be reflected in their actions and attitudes.

One of the mistakes we make when reading the letters of Paul is to take every personal pronoun and make it personal. So every time we read the word "you," we believe he is talking to us as individuals. But in most cases, Paul uses a plural personal pronoun. That's because most of his letters were written to churches, not individuals. In this case, he was writing to the believers in Corinth – all those individuals who made up the corporate body of Christ in that city. So his words are to be taken in a corporate context. But because of our intense individualism as Western Christians, we attempt to make it all about us as individuals. We read these verses and fail to see the community focus of Paul's words. The New Living Translation renders verse 5 in this way: "God has enriched your church in every way…"

In this letter, Paul is addressing the issue of spiritual gifts. He wants the Corinthian believers to know that they have been given spiritual gifts as individual believers, but those gifts are intended and designed for use within the body of Christ. The gifts of the Spirit were meant to enhance life within the community. My spiritual gift is not for me, but for the benefit of others with whom I live as part of the body of Christ.

In verse 7, Paul makes it clear that he is talking about spiritual gifts when he writes, "Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ." The body of Christ in Corinth had been blessed by God with a full assortment of spiritual gifts designed to enhance and encourage their spiritual growth and vitality as a community. Even when Paul writes, "He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns" (1 Corinthians 1:8 NLT), he has a community focus in mind.

Through the proper use of their spiritual gifts, God would keep the church in Corinth strong until the Lord returned. Paul knew that their spiritual well-being and health depended on the proper use of their individual gifts. But there were abuses of the spiritual gifts going on in Corinth, and Paul was going to address this vital issue. From the outset, he wants them to understand that the gifts were God-given and designed to be life-giving to the community. A healthy body is one in which all the members are performing their intended tasks faithfully and with the overall well-being of the body in mind. There is no place for selfishness or self-centeredness within the body of Christ.

Father, how easy it is to make it all about me. We are wired to think about ourselves and to neglect the needs of others. Our instincts of self-preservation and survival have allowed us to misunderstand the spiritual life. We make it an individual pursuit and fail to recognize that You intended it to be a corporate experience – a team sport. As we read through the letter to the Corinthians, remind us again of the power of the gifts used in the context of community as You designed them to be used. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Faith in Christ’s Faithfulness

1 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. – 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 ESV

Paul was a powerful proponent of prayer and was not shy in requesting others to pray on his behalf. He knew he was engaged in a spiritual battle that required spiritual weapons, which is exactly what he told the believers in Corinth.

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. – 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NLT

And as he told Timothy, one of the primary weapons in our warfare with evil is prayer.

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. – 1 Timothy 2:1-2 NLT

His belief in the power and efficacy of prayer was supported by James, who wrote, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16 NLT). In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul challenged them to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV). And, as Paul told Timothy, this call to persistent prayer was his desire for every congregation to which he had ministered.

In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy. – 1 Timothy 2:8 NLT

Paul didn’t view prayer as optional. It was not some kind of spiritual accessory you access when it’s convenient or when you determine it’s necessary. Prayer was to be a permanent and vital part of the believer’s life, a sentiment Paul expressed to the church in Ephesus.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. – Ephesians 6:18 NLT

This call to persistent and perpetual prayer was because of the undeniable reality of the spiritual battle in which we are engaged. Just a few verses earlier, Paul warned the Ephesian believers of the epic spiritual war taking place around them and their role in it.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:10-12 NLT

Paul was a man of prayer, and he coveted the prayers of others. But notice that Paul’s prayer request, while personal in nature, was not self-focused. He was asking them to pray that his ministry would continue to be successful, so “that the Lord’s message may spread quickly and be honored” (2 Thessalonians 3:1 NLT). He didn’t provide the Thessalonians with a long list of personal prayer requests that focused on his health, finances, or relational concerns. It wasn’t that Paul didn’t have problems or personal issues, but that his focus was always on the more significant cause of spreading the gospel.

Paul didn’t need better clothes, a bigger house, improved health, or a trouble-free life. And while he appreciated the concern that others showed for his well-being, he wanted them to know that he really had no needs, except the strength and determination to continue doing what he had been called to do.

How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. – Philippians 4:10-12 NLT

And Paul made it clear that everything he needed was provided for him by Christ.

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. – Philippians 4:13 NLT

As Paul’s letter has made clear, some opposed his teaching and were trying to add to or alter the gospel message. Not only that, but he also faced physical threats to his life because of his work on behalf of Christ. Paul provides a detailed list of his physical sufferings in his second letter to the church in Corinth. He describes how he had been “put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again” (2 Corinthians 11:23 NLT). Then he gave them specific instances of his abuse. “Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned” (2 Corinthians 11:24-25 NLT).

So, Paul asked the Thessalonians for prayer in light of the very real nature of his opposition and their relentless desire to put him out of commission.

…pray for us…that we may be delivered from perverse and evil people. For not all have faith. – 2 Thessalonians 3:1, 2 NLT

As the Thessalonians knew from their own firsthand experience, not everyone was receptive to the gospel message. Many of their own friends and family members had denied God’s gracious offer of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. Not all have faith, Paul states, and not everyone is part of the body of Christ. Wherever believers exist, they find themselves surrounded by those who despise their message and their very existence. Jesus had warned His disciples, “You will be hated by everyone because of My name” (Matthew 10:22 BSB). And He broadened the scope of this hatred by declaring that the whole world would stand opposed to His followers.

If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. – John 15:19 BSB

But Paul assures his fledgling flock in Thessalonica that, while the world was filled with hostile people who did not share their faith, “the Lord is faithful” and “He will establish you and guard you against the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3 ESV). No matter how bleak things appeared to be or how intense the persecution may become, the Lord stood ready to strengthen and protect them. With true pastoral conviction and a loving shepherd’s heart, Paul encouraged his flock to remain faithful to the Lord. He had not and would not abandon them. And Paul complimented the Thessalonians for their past faithfulness and assured them of his confidence that they would remain committed to Christ, no matter what happened.

…we are confident about you in the Lord that you are both doing—and will do—what we are commanding. – 2 Thessalonians 3:4 NLT

Finally, Paul offers up a prayer on their behalf, asking that God give them a greater understanding of His love for them and a deeper appreciation for the endurance Christ modeled with His own life. They needed to keep the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ on their minds constantly. As Paul told the believers in Ephesus, an understanding of God’s love as expressed through Christ’s sacrifice is the key to experiencing fullness of life and power.

…may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. – Ephesians 3:18-19 NLT

And as the author of Hebrews points out, a constant focus on the faithfulness of Christ goes a long way in providing world-weary Christians with the strength they need to not only survive but thrive in this life.

…let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. – Hebrews 12:1-3 NLT

Because of the unwavering love of God and the faithfulness of Christ, they had everything they needed to say as Paul did, “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13 NLT).

Father, we tend to make faith a self-produced asset that we somehow conjure up out of our own strength. But, in reality, faith has far less to do with us than it has to do with the faithfulness of Christ. The size or strength of our faith is not the point. As Jesus told His disciples, faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). Focusing on the quantity or quality of our faith places the emphasis on the wrong thing. My faith is to focus on Jesus, “the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 10:12 BSB). It is because Jesus was faithful to carry out His Father’s divine plan of salvation that we have hope. As Paul states, “the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT). That is where my faith come from. And as Paul told Timothy, even when I am faithless, Jesus remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13). He will finishe what He started. He willl complete what He began. He will protect and preserve all those who have placed their hope in His faithfulness. Thank You for that much-needed reminder. Now, help me to live by faith in the faithfulness of Christ. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Best Is Yet To Come

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. – 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 ESV

The Thessalonians were distracted. They had taken their eye off the prize and were focusing on their present circumstances, wondering if, as the false prophets had claimed, the day of the Lord had begun. Their trials and tribulations seemed to support the idea that they were living in the end days. But this thought created confusion and caused them to doubt the teachings of Paul and his companions.

Paul describes the last days as being filled with apostasy, rebellion, and the judgment of God upon all those who reject the truth concerning His Son. As bad as things may have been for the Thessalonian believers, their conditions were nothing like those that will accompany the final days. The presence of trials in the life of a believer was not to be confused with the future day of Tribulation. In fact, Paul and the other New Testament authors encouraged believers to welcome trials as a vital part of God’s plan for their ongoing sanctification.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. – James 1:2-4 NLT

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. – 1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT

God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. – Hebrews 12:10-11 NLT

Suffering and sanctification are inseparable in the life of the believer. Just as Jesus suffered in this life and then experienced the joy of glorification, so will we one day. Paul reminded the believers in Rome that their status as children of God, made possible through their faith in Christ, also made them co-heirs with Christ. And part of their inheritance was the glory to come. But, as with Jesus, their suffering must precede their glorification.

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. – Romans 8:17-18 NLT

But as Paul states, their present suffering was nothing when compared with their future glorification. In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul stressed the example provided by the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.

Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
   he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:6-11 NLT

Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers that they had been chosen by God “to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13 NLT). Their experiences of suffering were proof of their salvation and ongoing sanctification. They had been given the privilege of suffering on behalf of Christ, and Paul wanted them to remember that their suffering had a purpose. It was a God-ordained process for increasing their dependence upon His indwelling Spirit so that their lives might display His power in their weakness.

And Paul had learned this truth from firsthand experience. Three different times, he asked God to remove “the thorn” in his flesh. But God had answered: “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT). And this eye-opening lesson from God had radically altered Paul’s perspective on the role of suffering and weakness in the life of the believer.

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT

Paul stressed to the Thessalonians believers that God’s ultimate goal behind their salvation was not their present happiness, but their future glorification.

To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 2 Thessalonians 2:14 ESV

Their ultimate glorification would not come in this life, but in the life to come. In the meantime, God was using the presence of suffering and trials to expose their weaknesses and encourage increasing dependence upon the Spirit’s presence and power within them. Paul challenged them to stay the course. Not only were they destined to experience additional suffering in this life, but they would also find themselves bombarded by false teaching that contradicted the words of Jesus and His apostles.

So, Paul called them to “stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15 NLT). As he told the believers in Ephesus, his job was “to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12 NLT), and he was committed to doing just that.

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. – Ephesians 4:13 NLT

His commitment was fueled by his belief in the transformative nature of the gospel message. Salvation was to result in sanctification. Faith in Christ was meant to produce Christlikeness. Spiritual infancy was to give way to spiritual maturity, and the spiritually mature are far less likely to be deceived and distracted by false teaching.

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. – Ephesians 4:14-15 NLT

Paul closes out this part of his letter with a prayer that takes the form of a blessing. He asks God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son to provide the Thessalonians with comfort and strength in the midst of all their trials. Notice that he does not ask for the removal of their trials; his emphasis is on hope. This is a clear reference to the culmination of their salvation with their future glorification. Paul reminds them that God and His Son “loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace” (2 Thessalonians 2:16 ESV). He stresses eternity and hope. His point is that the Thessalonians needed to stop being distracted by their current circumstances and the misguided teaching of the false prophets and refocus their attention on the finish line. 

If they kept their eyes on the prize, their glorification, they would realize that “their present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed” (Romans 8:18 BSB). And this future hope would provide the comfort and strength necessary to live transformed lives in the present.

Father, our glorification is not a pipe dream; it's an undeniable reality that is backed by Your word. You have promised it, so we can count on it. But as human beings, it is so easy to make everything about this life. We are temporal creatures who have difficulty imagining a life free from sin, suffering, and sorrow. As C. S, Lewis put it, “We are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased” (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory). Give us a vision of the life to come and the faith to wait eagerly for it. Don’t allow us to become satisfied with less and content with the deceptive pleasures of temporal life. You have so much more in store for us. May we begin to understand the true “weight of glory” that awaits us, and live confidently and expectantly with our eyes fixed on that promise. The best if yet to come. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

This Is Not All There Is

5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. – 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12 ESV

Paul has informed the Thessalonians that he uses them as an example for the other congregations to whom he ministers.

We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. – 2 Thessalonians 1:4 NLT

But he knows that bragging about them does not make their suffering any easier. He understands that they are confused by the difficult conditions they face and are questioning how their trials could be God’s will for them. It all seemed to make no sense. Hadn’t Jesus come so “that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 ESV)? Didn’t He promise fullness of joy to those who kept His commandments (John 15:11)?

The presence of suffering in the life of Christ’s followers has always caused doubt and confusion, even though Jesus warned it would happen. He clearly told His disciples, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows” (John 16:33 NLT). Placing one’s faith in Christ is not a vaccine against suffering. Salvation does not provide immunity from the effects of living in a fallen world where the presence of sin permeates everything and impacts everyone. Jesus was informing His disciples that following Him was going to set them at odds with the world around them.

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” – John 15:18-19 NLT

Attempting to live as lights in a sin-darkened world was not going to be easy. Exposing the deeds done in darkness would not win them any friends. Even Paul warned the believers in Ephesus, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light” (Ephesians 5:11-14 ESV).

But the apostle John declared that those living in darkness would prefer to remain right where they were, refusing Jesus’ offer of salvation from sin and death. 

…the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. – John 3:19-20 ESV

Jesus promised many trials and sorrows in this life, but He also provided His followers with the following assurance: “Take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NLT). Paul is attempting to explain to the Thessalonians that the presence of suffering and persecution in their lives should not come as a surprise. As followers of Christ, they were destined to suffer just as He had, but their present suffering had an upside.

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. –Romans 8:17-18 NLT

There was a method to God’s seeming madness. While the Thessalonian believers viewed their suffering as painful and pointless, Paul wanted them to know that God had a purpose behind it all. There was an as-yet invisible part to God’s divine plan to which they were currently unaware. And while their trials might tempt them to question God’s goodness and justice, Paul knew that it was all part of God’s righteous and fully sovereign plan for them.

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering… – 2 Thessalonians 1:5 ESV

Rather than complaining about their lot in life, they were to trust their all-knowing, all-wise God because He knew what He was doing. There was a divine purpose to their suffering that had both short-term and long-term ramifications. Which is what led James to write: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:1-4 NLT).

God uses our suffering to transform us. The presence of trials is meant to make us God-dependent rather than self-sufficient. That’s exactly what Peter meant when he wrote: “Humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:6-7 NLT). Trials require trust. When we can’t solve our own problems, it forces us to turn to the one who holds us in the palm of His hands. And that is exactly what David suggests that we do.

Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. – Psalm 55:22 NLT

God loves His children and, oftentimes, that love shows up in the form of troubles and trials that test our faith in Him. But when, through faith, we turn our cares over to Him, we experience an increasing level of perseverance that results in the further development of our spiritual maturity. We grow stronger and even more faith-filled, needing nothing. Which is what Paul meant when he wrote: “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT).

Another major factor behind Paul’s contentment with any and all circumstances in this life was his strong belief in God’s plans for the future. He understood that this life was not all there is; there is a life to come. For Paul, this life was a temporary environment in which he lived as an alien or stranger in an earth-bound body, waiting for something far better and longer lasting. 

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. – 2 Corinthians 5:1 1 NLT

Paul wanted the Thessalonians to find hope and encouragement in the reality of their future glorification, but also in God’s future judgment of the wicked.

God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. – 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 NLT

God was not blind or oblivious to what was going on in Thessalonica. He was fully aware of their suffering and knew the names of those who were responsible for it. Not only that, but He had a plan in place to bring about the just and righteous judgment of those people for their acts of wickedness. Just as the future glorification of the persecuted believers in Thessalonica will be far beyond anything they could ever imagine, the future judgment of the wicked will be far worse than anyone could ever dream.

They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. – 2 Thessalonians 1:9 NLT

At His second coming, Jesus will right all wrongs and restore order and justice to the world. He will punish the wicked, but He “will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe” (2 Thessalonians 1:10 NLT), and Paul includes the Thessalonians in that group. Yes, they might suffer in this life, but in the life to come, they will enjoy an eternity with the Father and the Son, free from the effects of sin and completely separated from any form of suffering, sorrow, or shame.

The apostle John recorded his vision of this future reality in the Book of Revelation. 

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” – Revelation 21:3-5 NLT

With that amazing image in mind, Paul tells the Thessalonian believers, “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:11 NLT). Paul was asking God to show up in the midst of their suffering, providing them with the power they needed to live up to their calling as His children. When they endured suffering well and walked worthy of their calling, the name of Jesus would be glorified because it would be evidence of God’s saving work in their lives.

Living a godly life was never intended to be easy. Jesus didn’t die so that we might live our best life now, but so that we will one day experience eternal life in all its glory. But in the meantime, God has provided us with everything we need for living in obedience to His will and for displaying His divine nature through our lives.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. – 2 Peter 1:3-4 NLT

Father, I’ll be honest, there are times when this life seems to be all there is. Even though I know Your promises about a life to come, I have a difficult time envisioning it. I have no problem seeing the trials and troubles of this life because their can be painfully real. But eternal life is hard to fathom. A future free from sin, sorrow, and suffering sounds great but it’s also hard to imagine. So, would you give me the faith I need to trust in Your promises and live in the here and now with hope in the hereafter. Jesus, You said suffering would be a part of this life and You were right. But You also promised that the day would come when the suffering would end and our joy would be complete. I want to live with that reality in mind. I want to trust in the promise of my future glorification. Help me keep my eye on the prize – “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 ESV). Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Strength to Endure

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. – 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4 ESV

As is obvious from the book’s title, this is a second letter written by Paul to the congregation of the church in Thessalonica. There may have been other letters written as well, but they were not included in the Canon of Scripture. It is unclear how much time passed since Paul wrote his first letter, but he obviously received new information regarding the spiritual state of affairs in Thessalonica, and he felt compelled to pen his response.

Paul was still in Corinth, some 358 miles away, when he heard the latest report concerning the church in Thessalonica. Driven by his pastor’s heart but hindered by the distance between them, Paul immediately put pen to paper in an effort to clarify the confusion that had been brought into the church by false teachers. This was a constant problem for Paul and the other apostles. As soon as they proclaimed the good news regarding salvation alone through faith in Christ alone, others would appear on the scene, declare themselves to be teachers, and begin offering what Paul refers to elsewhere as “a different gospel.”

For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. – 2 Corinthians 11:4 ESV

These “false” teachers were propagating their own version of the truth, adding to or taking away from the message of Jesus that Paul and the rest of the apostles had been divinely commissioned to preach. Paul told the churches in Galatia that these individuals were to be treated as enemies of God and as threats to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. – Galatians 1:8 ESV

But before broaching the subject of the doctrinal controversy going on in Thessalonica, Paul addressed his audience in his usual gracious manner, expressing his strong affection for them and complimenting them for their “steadfastness and faith” in the face of all the persecutions and afflictions they were having to endure. The members of the Thessalonian church were still relatively new converts to Christianity, and they were living in a predominantly pagan society heavily influenced by both Greek and Roman culture. Located on a major trade route, Thessalonica was a cultural melting pot that enjoyed unprecedented prosperity. As the capital of the Roman province of Macedon, it also benefited from the protection provided by Caesar’s powerful legions.

But all of these factors made Thessalonica a particularly hostile environment for those who had chosen to place their faith in Christ. While Thessalonica was considered a rather pluralistic society, there was strong resistance to Christianity from the Greeks and the sparse contingent of Jews who called Thessalonica home. The small but growing band of Christ-followers was feeling intense pressure from all sides as they attempted to live out their new faith under less-than-ideal conditions.

Paul, writing on behalf of his ministry companions, Silvanus and Timothy, compliments the Thessalonians for their steadfastness and perseverance under fire.

We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. – 2 Thessalonians 1:4 NLT

While the circumstances around them were difficult, these faithful few were not giving in or choosing to give up. In fact, Paul emphasizes that they were handling the pressure with remarkable poise and persistence.

…your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. – 2 Thessalonians 1:3 ESV

Paul opens his letter with his usual salutation, declaring his desire that they enjoy the ongoing benefit of God’s grace and peace. While Paul used this same phrasing in many of his letters, it should not be seen as some rote and, therefore, meaningless line. He meant what he said. His desire that they experience God’s grace or unmerited favor was real. For Paul, the grace of God played an indispensable role in every believer’s salvation, but also in their ongoing sanctification. Without the benefit of God’s grace, no one could come to faith in Christ.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. – Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT

Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. – Romans 3:24 NLT

Paul understood that, after salvation, God’s grace continued to play a vital role in the believer’s transformation into the likeness of Christ. God graciously provides each believer with His indwelling Holy Spirit, who provides the power required to live the Christian life. That’s why Paul warned the believers in Galatia just how futile and foolish it was to try to achieve spiritual maturity without God’s grace, as demonstrated by the Spirit’s enabling power.

After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? – Galatians 3:3 NLT

Paul knew that without the ongoing benefit of God’s unmerited favor, the Thessalonian believers would never experience the fullness of joy and the abundant life Christ promised to give them. But he also knew that the peace of God was another essential resource in their ongoing spiritual transformation. In his letter to the churches in Philippi, Paul described this peace as that which “exceeds anything we can understand,” and he assured them that God’s “peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7 NLT).

When Paul commended the Thessalonians for their faith and love and complimented them for their steadfastness and faith, he knew that it was all attributable to God’s grace and peace. He was at work in their midst. Yes, He had saved them, but He was also sustaining and supporting them as their spiritual journey continued. Paul was fully convinced of the reality of God’s ongoing participation in the life of every believer, a belief he expressed boldly and often.

Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. – 1 Corinthians 1:7-8 NLT

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. – 1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

The Thessalonians were in good hands, and they had everything they needed for living godly lives because of the grace of God the Father. The apostle Peter shared Paul’s confidence in the power of God’s grace.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. – 2 Peter 1:3 NLT

Father, You never said that the Christian life would be easy. Even Your Son warned that it would be accompanied by trials and marked by suffering. He told His disciples that the world would hate them just as it hated Him. And yet, despite the difficulties that sometimes accompany the life of faith, You have provided us with everything we need to not only survive, but thrive. You constantly pour out Your grace and peace in abundance, and provide us with power through the indwelling presence of Your Spirit. We are never alone or left to struggle in our own strength. The same grace that made our salvation possible makes our sanctification attainable. Your peace, which surpasses all understanding, provides us with comfort and hope even in the darkest moments. We can display endurance and faithfulness because You make it possible. And for that, we are eternally grateful. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Ignorance Is Not Bliss

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ESV

As the Thessalonian believers continued to grow in their salvation and live in a manner pleasing to God, Paul knew they would do so in the hope that Jesus Christ would soon return. The imminent return of Christ was a common theme in the early church and proved to be a powerful motivational message for those facing the very real threat of persecution and even death. Paul regularly spoke and wrote about the second coming of Christ, reminding his children in the faith that His return was the ultimate goal.

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. – 1 Corinthians 20:21 NLT

This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. – Romans 13:11-12 NLT

Paul has already addressed the return of Christ three times in his letter to the church in Thessalonica.

…they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. – 1 Thessalonians 1:10 NLT

After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you! – 1 Thessalonians 2:19 NLT

May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. – Matthew 3:13 NLT

The return of Christ was the endgame for Paul, and he eagerly anticipated it because Jesus had promised it.

There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. – John 14:2-3 NLT

And Paul was not alone in his confident claims concerning the Lord’s timely return. The apostle James also saw the imminent return of Christ as a powerful motivator when addressing believers experiencing life's pain and difficulties.

Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. – James 5:7-8 NLT

Peter, another one of the apostles, joined the chorus, reminding his readers that the Lord’s return would mark the end of all things.

The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. – 1 Peter 4:7 NLT

And not to be left out, the author of the book of Hebrews encouraged his readers to use the reality of Christ’s return as motivation to model Christlikeness in their daily lives.

…let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. – Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT

However, when you live with the eager anticipation that something will happen soon and it fails to materialize, disappointment and disillusionment can set in. As the days pass and the promise remains unfulfilled, you may begin to lose hope. And, as Paul knew, watching the deaths of their fellow believers was causing a certain amount of confusion and concern among the members of the early church. Why had they died before Jesus had come back? What would be their fate?

It seems that all the talk about the imminent return of Christ had left some of the Thessalonians with the mistaken impression that all who believed in Him would live to see it happen. But as time passed, some of their fellow believers had died. So, Paul attempted to provide them with clarification and further insight into all the talk about the “end of all things,” and he gets right to the point.

…now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. – 1 Thessalonians 4:13 NLT

Their grief was not just over the loss of their friends, but it also included their concern over the eternal state of those who had died. Had they not believed? Were they doomed to spend eternity in hell? Had their deaths been the result of falling away from the faith?

It is important to remember that the early church had minimal access to doctrine or well-informed insights into theological matters. In its infancy, the church depended on Paul and others for theological training and instruction on issues such as the end times. Paul’s letter to the Romans was his attempt to provide a detailed doctrinal analysis of the faith, expounding on the teachings of Jesus and the gospel so that members of the early church could gain a deeper, more foundational understanding of their faith.

Paul has already told the Thessalonians that he regularly prayed for them, “asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith” (1 Thessalonians 3:10 NLT). And that is precisely what he is attempting to do in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

First, he addresses the 800-pound gorilla in the room: The untimely deaths of their fellow believers.

For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. – 1 Thessalonians 4:14 NLT

With this statement, Paul brings up another aspect of the end-time events of which they were unaware. This section of verses is one of the primary passages used to support the doctrine of the Rapture of the church. Paul is not talking about the Second Coming of Christ, but of His return for His bride, the church. The term “rapture” is not found in the Bible, but it is derived from the Greek word Paul uses in verse 17. There, he mentions that those who are still alive when Christ returns will be “caught up together…in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” The Greek word translated as “caught up” is harpazo, and it means “to seize, to snatch away, to carry off by force.”

In the late 4th century, the Bible was translated from its original languages into Latin. In this translation, called the Latin Vulgate, the phrase “caught up” was translated as rapturo, from which the term “Rapture” comes.

Paul was informing his readers about an event that would precede the Second Coming of Christ and usher in the rest of the end-time events. There was no need for the Thessalonians to grieve over the loss of their friends because God had a plan. Those who had died had gone to be with Him. Their bodies had been buried, but their souls had gone to be with the Lord in heaven. When Jesus addressed the thief on the cross, He promised him, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43 NLT). There is no such thing as soul sleep or a holding place called Purgatory. Upon death, all believers go to be with the Lord.

Paul assures those left behind in Thessalonica that they will one day see their deceased friends again. In fact, they will accompany Christ when He returns for His church.

…when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. – 1 Thessalonians 4:14 NLT

But then Paul appears to contradict himself. He just said that the dead believers will come back with Christ, but then he states, “the believers who have died will rise from their graves” (1 Thessalonians 4:16 NLT). Well, which is it? Do they return with Jesus, or rise from their graves? And the answer is, “Both.”

Paul is describing the resurrection of their bodies. At the Rapture, the souls of all those who have died in Christ will return with Him and be reunited with their resurrected and transformed bodies. Paul talks about the need for this in his first letter to the church in Corinth.

But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting.… It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. – 1 Corinthians 35-37, 42-44 NLT

In his second letter, he provides greater detail regarding these spiritual bodies.

…we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. – 2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT

The departed saints will return with the Lord and be reunited with their new spiritual bodies, which God has prepared for them. Those who are still alive at the time of the Rapture will ascend into heaven, receiving their glorified bodies as they go. And the end result of all this? “…we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17 ESV).

Paul concludes by encouraging the Thessalonians to find comfort and hope in this new revelation about their lost friends and the church's future Rapture.

Therefore encourage one another with these words. – 1 Thessalonians 4:18 ESV

As the early church evolved, its need for sound doctrine increased exponentially. The teachings of Jesus needed to be expanded and expounded upon, and Paul spent a great deal of time in his letters helping his far-flung flock understand the depth and detail of the gospel message. Many in the early church were still expecting Jesus’ imminent return and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth. They were surprised by His seeming delay and confused by the trials they were forced to endure because of their faith in Him. For some, the “good news” was not turning out as expected.

But Paul wanted them to understand the depth and reliability of God’s plan. Jesus had not died to guarantee them their best life now, but to pave the way for eternal life. He knew a firm grasp of the end times was essential to their ongoing faith and would give them the strength to live with hope and confidence.

Father, even today, so many of Your children live with a cloudy understanding of Your plan for them. They live in fear and doubt because their lives have not turned out as expected. The presence of sorrow and suffering has caused them to question Your love and goodness. The difficulties associated with living the life of faith have diminished their hope and left them seeking comfort in the things of this world. They want their best life now and can’t imagine that You have something far greater in store for them that this world cannot offer. Would you help us to keep our eyes fixed on the prize and focused on the promise Your Son came to fulfill? He is coming back and He will finish what He began. Your plan is perfect but it is not yet complete. But, one day, You will fulfill all that You said You would do. We can count on it. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Call to Holiness

1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. – 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 ESV

Paul’s overwhelming desire to see the Thessalonian believers face-to-face was about more than a chance to reconnect and get reacquainted with old friends. Paul had something far more important in mind. As he told them in the previous section of his letter, the motivation behind his desire to see them again was that he “might supply what is lacking in your faith” (1 Thessalonians 3:10 ESV). The reason he had sent Timothy to Thessalonica was “to establish and exhort” them in their faith (1 Thessalonians 3:2 ESV). 

And while Paul has confessed that Timothy’s good news regarding their faith and love brought him comfort, he still felt the pressing need to see them so that he might “fill in the gaps” of their faith (1 Thessalonians 3:10 NLT).

Paul’s deep love for these people seems quite obvious. He had a pastor’s heart that cared for their spiritual well-being. While their faith was strong, even in the midst of trying circumstances, Paul knew that there was much they needed to know if they were going to remain strong in the days ahead. The battle was far from over because the enemy had not thrown in the towel. The opposition had not given up its efforts to demoralize the sheep and discredit the shepherd.

So, Paul felt compelled to share with them one final word of counsel. He complimented them on their faith and love and described them as “standing fast in the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 3:8 ESV). But there is one more thing they needed to hear him say.

…we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God. – 1 Thessalonians 4:1 ESV

Paul was not admonishing them or demanding that they correct their sinful behavior. In fact, he added the statement, “…just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 4:1 ESV). They were already living in a way that pleased God, but Paul wants them to know that they were going to need to do so “more and more” (1 Thessalonians 4:1 ESV).

In the short time Paul and Silas had spent in Thessalonica, they had instructed them how to live their lives in a way that was pleasing to God. To get his point across, Paul used the Greek word peripateo, which is translated as “walk.” It was one of Paul’s favorite terms that could be used to refer to the physical act of walking, but he used it as a metaphor for spiritual life. When he used the term “walk,” he was referring to the daily conduct of one’s life. In those days, walking was the primary mode of transportation for the average person. You couldn’t conduct your life without walking. So, Paul used this normal means of mobility as an analogy for living the Christian life, and he used it often.

…who walk (peripateo) not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit… – Romans 8:4 ESV

Let us walk (peripateo) properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. – Romans 13:13 ESV

Only let each person lead the life (peripateo) that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. – 1 Corinthians 7:17 ESV

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk (peripateo) in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called… – Ephesians 4:1 ESV

…walk (peripateo) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him.  – Colossians 1:10 ESV

As followers of Christ, their spiritual walk or manner of life was to be distinctively different than that of their lost friends and family members. They were to live set-apart lives, marked by holiness and righteousness. But their spirituality was never meant to remain in a static state. Salvation was never intended to be a one-time event but was to be an ongoing, regularly occurring, and lifelong transformational process. The apostle Peter referred to it as growing up in salvation (1 Peter 2:2).  Paul told the Ephesians believers to “grow up in every way into him [Christ]” (Ephesians 4:15 ESV).

There is no place for complacency in the Christian life. At no point are we to become satisfied with the status quo. We are not the ones who get to determine whether we have successively achieved spiritual maturity, and Paul makes that point perfectly clear to his brothers and sisters in Thessalonica.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification… – 1 Thessalonians 4:3 ESV

Paul put it in blunt terms. What God wanted of them and for them was simple: Their sanctification. But what did he mean by this? The Greek word he used is hagiasmos, and it can be translated as “holiness.” It derives from another Greek word, hagiazo, which means “to separate from profane things and dedicate to God.” To be holy is to be set apart or consecrated for a specific purpose. In the case of a believer, they are set apart to God. So, to be sanctified is the process of being constantly and consistently set apart for God’s use. It involves a separation from all that is ungodly or unrighteous. Or as Paul liked to put it, it involves putting off the old and putting on the new.

 …put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires…put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. – Ephesians 4:22, 24 ESV

Just a few verses earlier in his letter to the Ephesian believers, Paul challenged them, “You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do…” (Ephesians 4:17 ESV). They were not to conduct their lives in the same way they had before. In fact, in chapter two of Ephesians, Paul points out the stark difference between their new life in Christ and that of their old, pre-salvation nature.

…you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked (peripateo), following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. – Ephesians 2:2-3 ESV

But Paul stressed the change that had taken place in their lives.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved… – Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV

The lives of the Ephesians believers had been radically changed when they placed their faith in Christ. The same thing was true of the believers in Thessalonica, and that change was to be tangible and visible. It was to show up in their behavior and every facet of their daily lives. Just to make sure they understood the non-negotiable and all-pervasive nature of this change, Paul provided them with the details.

God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. – 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 NLT

There was to be no compromising of their faith. Their new life in Christ left no room for old habits and attitudes. Paul told the Corinthian believers, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT).

The old adage, “something old, something new,” has no place in the life of the believer. God expects and demands life transformation and has provided His Holy Spirit to make it possible. A life marked by sexual sin and immorality was unacceptable for the Christ-follower; it violated the will of God and failed to model a life of holiness. In the Greek culture of that day, sexual promiscuity was an accepted way of life. Demosthenes, a Greek statesman and orator, wrote, “We keep prostitutes for pleasure; we keep mistresses for the day-to-day needs of the body; we keep wives for the begetting of children and for the faithful guardianship of our homes.” 

In a culture marked by self-indulgence and the willful gratification of all sexual desires, the Christian was to live in a way that distinguished them as having been set apart or consecrated to God — separated from the profane and dedicated to His glory. To do so demands self-control. They would need to control their physical passions and desires, choosing instead to “live in holiness and honor—not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways” (1 Thessalonians 4:4-5 ESV).

Once again, Paul puts his thoughts in simple, easy-to-understand terms: “God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives” (1 Thessalonians 4:7 NLT). Not a lot of wiggle room there. Paul doesn’t leave it open for negotiation or debate. God’s will was their sanctification. His expectation was holiness, not impurity. He was interested in set-apartness, not sameness. Anyone who rejected this idea was not rejecting the teachings of Paul; they were disobeying and, ultimately, denying the will of God Almighty.

Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. – 1 Thessalonians 4:8 ESV

Paul was teaching the need to live an ongoing life of transformation. The Thessalonian believers were to walk and please God more and more. There was to be no end to their spiritual journey. At no point were they to assume they had arrived. Salvation was to result in ongoing sanctification, a never-ending, Spirit-empowered conformity to the image of Christ — for a lifetime. No, for eternity. 

Father, the call to holiness sounds so unachievable. We still live in a fallen world and do battle with our sinful natures every day. I get it that You want us to live holy lives and I understand that Your Spirit provides us with all the power we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). But it still seems so impossible. Even Jesus said, “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” (Matthew 26:41 NLT). And the apostle Paul admitted his own struggle with sin when he wrote, “I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway” (Romans 7:18-19 NLT). But I know You would not call us to live holy lives if You didn’t have a way to make it possible. I have seen you transform my life through the power of the Spirit and the application of Your Word. I am not the man I once was and I know I am not yet the man You intend me to be. I am a work in process, and, one day, You will finish what You began by fully transforming me into the likeness of Your Son. In the meantime, help me to stay strong, to remain committed, and to recognize my inability to change myself. My sanctification is Your job, not mine. You are the one who saved me and You alone can sanctify me. But I have to cooperate and make Your will my own. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.