Month: January 2019

1. Help

2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.

The promise of help (succor) is common in the Bible, especially in the Psalms. It is not so hard to believe God will help us; it is harder to believe God will help me now, in my present predicament, today. The promise is for now. The promise is that God has helped in the accepted time and in the day of salvation. The Good News is that now is the accepted time and now is the day of salvation.

“Now” means “when you need help.”Jesus announced the acceptable time when He came to earth and appeared as the God-man. He announced the Kingdom is near, indeed, He demonstrated that it is here in His words and deeds. The Day of Salvation has come in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We live in that Day. Today is the Day, the Day is now, in the present. The New Testament Day is the time we live in.

God will help. When? Now! “God is a very present help in trouble [Psalm 46:1}.” How much more is this true in the New Testament days after the life, death and resurrection of Christ? The day of salvation is the time in which forgiveness of sinsis earned by Christ and granted by the Holy Spirit. It is the day in which eternal lifeis given to those who believe. It is the day when God, the Spirit, lives in our spirit by simple faith in Christ. Salvation saves from Sin, Death, and the Devil. Salvation is also a present help in a time of trouble and need. God promises to hear our prayers and answer our present need because of Jesus Christ.

There are certain times in our lives when we need to know this right now: now I need help; in this exact time I need help. Help me now!There is no doubt that today is the day of salvation; now is the accepted time. Jesus has come. Jesus is here. “I’m here to help.”

1. 157. The Righteousness of God

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

This “Great Exchange” contains the promise that we are made the righteousness of God in Christ. This is a big deal, a great deal, the best deal ever: We trade in our sin and give it to Jesus, who is made to be sin, and in turn we receive the righteousness of God. Such a one-sided deal is patently unfair; it is sheer mercy. Thank God that He is unfair; thank God for mercy.

“We might be made….” This is a thoroughgoing, new-created change, a radical change from the very worst to the very best. We are not made righteous, as an adjective that describes us; it is not a covering or an outward appearance. We are made righteousness, as a noun that is a substantive thing; the change is in the very nature of who we are. It’s a real thing. 

This is how God sees us and regards us. Faith is counted as righteousness. When God looks at us He sees righteousness. Righteousness is much more than just being nice, being a good person, making good choices, and doing the right thing. Righteousness comes close to perfection and holiness. And more, it is the righteousness of God; it can’t get any better or purer than that. It is not just a power or influence that prompts us or encourages us to do the right thing, nor to simply grow and develop into a good person. The righteousness that we are is already full and complete and finished; nothing more can be added. We need to believe this promise, and it is very helpful to regard our selves as God does. Praise God for His grace that makes us the righteousness of God. 

On the other hand, we admit that we are still Sin. Sin remains. Sin still resides. Sin and righteousness live together in the same body. We can, however, repent of our sin daily and believe in God’s righteousness. Doing so empowers the righteousness of God to infect our souls, our families, our society, and our world. Believing this promise can make a life-changing difference.

1. Ministry of Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:18, 19 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Not only has God reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, but He has also blessed us by giving to us the ministry of reconciliation. The promise is that we may minister reconciliation to others and with others. This is a kind of power God has promised to us. We have the power to reconcile people to God through the proclamation of the Gospel. We also have the power to serve people with reconciliation with each other. 

When we have a part in the sharing of the Gospel we are privileged to have a part in reconciling people to God. God has reconciled all people to Himself who once were enemies of God through the cross of His Son. All who believe that message are reconciled to God. It is those who have received that Good News and are reconciled to God who then have the promise and the privilege of ministering the message of reconciliation to other people.

Then, after faith in Christ, believers have the power to be reconciled with other people who act as enemies. The power is in the apology and the forgiveness that we extend to those we have trespassed against and those who have trespassed against us. We can also minister to others by encouraging and enabling them to forgive others with whom they are at odds, thereby reconciling them with each other. Sometimes people need the encouragement of a third party to reconcile with each other. We don’t realize this promise and we don’t often use the power we have been given. The Gospel always has more power than we can think or believe.

155. A New Creation

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The promise for those who believe in Christ is that they are new creatures, or better put, they are a new creation. The new creation is the new life, the eternal life, which lives in me, within my spirit. This is the new man, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has already designed that we should walk in them. This new creation replaces the old one that has been ruined by sin and death.

Old things are passed away. The old things are the things that belong to the old man, the sinful self. The old things that are a part of original sin are passed and gone, drowned and dead. The old things are the sins that arise from the self-centered old man of the flesh.The old man and the sins coming from him are reckoned as dead. That old life and the old things of it are by faith regarded as dead. This happens by repentance and faith in the Gospel.

All things are become new. The all things in this verse apply to all the things that come from the new creation. All these things are good works, loving acts, kindnesses, blessings, and caring patience. These are the new things that the new man does in daily life. They are new and they become new because they come from the new man, the Spirit-activated life arising from faith in Christ. New is good; old is sin. The one is dead; the other is alive. Reckon ye yourselves dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. It is already done. We do not do it or make it happen. Believe it, receive it, live it, and enjoy it.

1. 154. I am Dead

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

One (Jesus) died for all: this is the Gospel. The “for all” includes me, meaning, “Jesus died for me.” I am identified with Christ by faith, and by faith I am dead. This, remarkably, is a wonderful promise for me: I am dead. That doesn’t sound so great, but follow the thought. If I am dead with Christ then I no longer live for myself because I am dead. I still live but I am dead to myself. Christ lives in me and I live for Him who died for me and rose again.

The more that I am dead (if one can speak of degrees of dying) the more Christ lives. This is great news and a great promise, for the life of Christ is so much better than my own life lived for myself. In practical terms it means that I die to myself; I die to myself by repentance and faith in the Gospel, daily. I sin daily, I am forgiven daily, I die to myself daily. When I die to myself I am free to live for others. I am free to serve other people since my own needs, wants, desires, ambitions and rights are dead. This is shocking news to the modern mind, which says, “Take care of yourself first, and then you will be able to take care of others.” (Like the airplane oxygen mask; put it on yourself before you put in on your children.) But the Bible says, “Die to yourself first, and then you be free to serve others.”

But what about me? Who will take care of me if I don’t? The answer: Others. And if others fail to meet my needs I have to trust in God to meet my needs and take care of me. God usually does just that though other people. Can you trust God to do that? Yes, because Jesus already died and rose for all, and for you. He promises to love you and take care of all the needs of the new life He has given you. When you give up everything, die to yourself, and entrust yourself 100% into the care of Jesus then the new life is free to, and wants to, live for and serve and bless others.

This promise is given to explain the first part of this verse, “The love of Christ constrains (compels) us.” Christ loves me. That love is unconditional and total and it compels, not forces, me to die to self and love God by serving others. I give of myself so that others may be blessed. But I can’t do that until I am dead, for the sinful, selfish, love turned inward, person that I am gets in the way of the new self, the Christ life, doing its thing, loving and giving and serving. You do not die to yourself by dying to yourself; you die to yourself by believing the promise: I am already dead. Enjoy that truth; and you are free.

1. 153/ Receive the Things Done

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

We are not necessarily eager to appear before the judgment seat, especially if we do not know what the judgment will be. However, this is the judgment seat of Christ, the very person that graciously saved us and earned forgiveness for us is the person who will judge us. Therefore, we know the positive judgment we shall receive. It will be a joyous blessing to appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And we can’t wait.

The promise is that everyone will receive the things done in his body. At first glance, this could be a little frightening, for it says, “good or bad.” We are aware of the bad things we have done, and we don’t look forward to being judged for them. However, in the judgment no ‘’bad” will appear at all since all the bad has been taken away, and we are washed clean in the blood of Christ.

The only things done in the body that will be judged will be the “good.”We may not think that there are so many good things done in the body, but in reality for every believer there will be a ton of good done in the body, most of the good things done we do not even remember. The Good News is that it is God, the Holy Spirit, who is doing the “things done in the body.” God does the good works in us, but we get the rewards for every good work done. The things done are done by God, not by us. It may look and feel like we are doing the good work, but it really is God designing and the doing the good works we perform in life through faith in Christ. God is the One who is working these things in us, building strong character and goodness, and producing the fruit of the Spirit.

For example, God is doing “patience” in the body as if it were a solid thing. God is working patience in us with every test, large or small. God uses hardships and difficult circumstances, gives us the patience to endure it in faith while building something permanent is us, and we receive it (the thing done) and enjoy the reward at the judgment seat of Christ for something God actually did. Is that neat, or what?

We live our lives in faith and everything we do in faith is a good work. As Luther says, even eating breakfast is a good work when it is done in faith. That we should get a reward for it is really amazing when you think of it. We just walk by faith and let God do the counting; then we come to the Judgment with eager anticipation. The promise: we will receive.

1. 152. Present with the Lord

2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

The promise is that we will be present with the Lord when we die, when the soul leaves the body. Because of this promise we are confident and even willing: we are confident to face death; we are even willing to separate from the body. When we die we (our souls) leave the body and go to be with the Lord. Then we await the resurrection of the body, which is a certainty. This promise says that immediately upon death we are present with the Lord. 

We naturally love the body and the survival instinct is strong, but salvation gives another yearning  in addition to the desire to preserve life in the body; that yearning is the confidence and willingness to be with the Lord. We are present with the Lord by faith right now while we live in this body, and He is with us always, but the body of sin and death prevents us from enjoying the presence of the Lord in its fullness. Death is the separation of the self from the body and then we are finally free from sin and death. 

Sin separates us from God; Grace and forgiveness unites us with God. At death the presence of sin is removed forever and nothing can separate us from God ever again. Though sin is forgiven completely it still remains with us until death. The promise is that at death the body will be transformed and sin will no longer come between God and us. We can be, and we will be, present with the Lord in all His glory forever. We need this change and we look forward to it. We do not seek to die but we are ready for it. When you really think about it this promise could not be improved upon: to be present with the Lord is everything good, beautiful and wonderful. We could not imagine it any better.

1. 151. Earnest of the Spirit

2 Corinthians 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

God gives the Spirit and promises Him to be a guarantee. A guarantee means that it has to be. A commercial guarantee in our economics means that if something goes wrong or breaks the seller promises to fix it free of charge. In other words, the company promises that the product will work the way it is supposed to for as long as the guarantee is in the contract. The guarantee of the Spirit means that the promised product will be there, and you can count on it.

The product guaranteed here is Life. Life is coming and death is swallowed up. God says, “I guarantee it!”In order for us to believe it and live our lives accordingly He gives the Spirit as a guarantee. The Spirit is the earnest = you will definitely be clothed with a new body. 

That Holy Spirit that is presently the guaranteed contract that the promise is true is the Life we enjoy right now. How can we be sure we will have that new resurrected life in a new body? We can be sure because we have the Spirit, who is life, right now. We might ask, “How do I know I have the Spirit? I can’t see Him.” You can know because God says so. Jesus says so in His Word. He can promise Him because he earned it for you by His death and resurrection. Did Jesus die? Did Jesus rise? Do you believe this? Then you have it.Your body hasn’t risen yet, but you know it will. How do you know? You have the Spirit as a guarantee.

1. 150. Mortality swallowed up by Life

2 Corinthians 5:4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

Mortality is the human condition: we are going to die. Though we don’t think about it very often the thought of mortality is always under the surface. We are reminded of our looming death all the time when we feel sicker and weaker than we once were. Death is certain; this we know; we are mortal. The tent we live in is the body; the body is a burden, but we want more than just shedding the tent. We need to be clothed upon with life.

The great Good News is that mortality is swallowed up. Life takes over and reigns absolutely over death. We know that we will live forever, and we know that we will live in a blessed environment to boot. Death is swallowed up in victory. All people are born in death and heading for a certain death, but all people are also born with an inner knowledge that there must be more, that there has to be another life after this one, that eternal life is in the heart, that we were created to live forever. The human enigma is this: though we know there is more life than we see we don’t know where it is or how to find it—until God became a man and told us where it is. Eternal life is in Christ. The Holy Spirit applies that life to us when we hear the Gospel.

Now the Christian lives in two worlds, the world of life and the world of death. We shall be clothed with life, a resurrected body with full life forever. Until then we groan under the burden of the death that surrounds us and looms in front of us. When the tent is “changed” or exchanged for a new body the groaning will stop: there will be no more tears for God Himself will wipe them away; there will be no more pain and suffering; there will be no more sighing and groaning; there will be no more death. Death is swallowed up and life is completely enjoyed. This promise means that in the midst of groaning there is rejoicing.

1. 149. A Building of God

2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.

God promises a building of God, a house eternal in the heavens. The earthly house is dissolved. The earthly house is the temporary physical body in which we live during our time on the earth. The heavenly house is the resurrected bodyin which we will live for eternity in heaven, after physical death.

The present body on earth is like a tabernacle. The tabernacle was designed by God to be a temporary house for the presence of God on the earth. It was meant to be dissolved and to pass away. The eternal body, which is meant to house the presence of God forever, is the body of Christ, the Church. The body of a believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and the bodies of all believers in Christ together.

The essence of the promise is the resurrection of the body. The earthly body dissolves and decays, but out of the ashes and dust a heavenly body arises; this resurrected body is a building of God (God makes it); this heavenly body is not made with hands(human hands); and this heavenly body is eternal in the heavens, that is, it can never die, get sick or injured, grow old, or deteriorate in any sense.

The resurrected body is a newly created body; God creates a new body out of the old one, which is able to house a righteous, holy, redeemed and renewed soul, a new creation. A cleansed and eternal soul needs an eternal body to hold it. This new “house” is what God promises all believers in Christ. We can’t wait.