Corinthians Death Quotes

It isn’t Easter,” he said, “but this week has caused me to think a lot about the Easter story. Not the glorious resurrection that we celebrate on Easter Sunday but the darkness that came before. I know of no darker moment in the Bible than the moment Jesus in his agony on the cross cries out, ‘Father, why have you forsaken me?’ Darker even than his death not long after because in death Jesus at last gave himself over fully to the divine will of God. But in that moment of his bitter railing he must have felt betrayed and completely abandoned by his father, a father he’d always believed loved him deeply and absolutely. How terrible that must have been and how alone he must have felt. In dying all was revealed to him, but alive Jesus like us saw with mortal eyes, felt the pain of mortal flesh, and knew the confusion of imperfect mortal understanding. “I see with mortal eyes. My mortal heart this morning is breaking. And I do not understand. “I confess that I have cried out to God, ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ ” Here my father paused and I thought he could not continue. But after a long moment he seemed to gather himself and went on. “When we feel abandoned, alone, and lost, what’s left to us? What do I have, what do you have, what do any of us have left except the overpowering temptation to rail against God and to blame him for the dark night into which he’s led us, to blame him for our misery, to blame him and cry out against him for not caring? What’s left to us when that which we love most has been taken? “I will tell you what’s left, three profound blessings. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul tells us exactly what they are: faith, hope, and love. These gifts, which are the foundation of eternity, God has given to us and he’s given us complete control over them. Even in the darkest night it’s still within our power to hold to faith. We can still embrace hope. And although we may ourselves feel unloved we can still stand steadfast in our love for others and for God. All this is in our control. God gave us these gifts and he does not take them back. It is we who choose to discard them. “In your dark night, I urge you to hold to your faith, to embrace hope, and to bear your love before you like a burning candle, for I promise that it will light your way. “And whether you believe in miracles or not, I can guarantee that you will experience one. It may not be the miracle you’ve prayed for. God probably won’t undo what’s been done. The miracle is this: that you will rise in the morning and be able to see again the startling beauty of the day. “Jesus suffered the dark night and death and on the third day he rose again through the grace of his loving father. For each of us, the sun sets and the sun also rises and through the grace of our Lord we can endure our own dark night and rise to the dawning of a new day and rejoice. “I invite you, my brothers and sisters, to rejoice with me in the divine grace of the Lord and in the beauty of this morning, which he has given us.

It is important to emphasize that the Gospel centers in the death and resurrection of Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 Paul sums up its message in three historical facts: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. . . . He was buried . . . He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

The New Testament also primarily places the blame for mankind’s original sin on Adam, not Eve. In Romans 5:12, we learn that “sin came into the world through one man [emphasis added] and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned.” In 1 Corinthians 15:22 Paul declares, “or as in Adam [emphasis added] all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

Bonaventure was the first Superior of the Franciscan Order after the death of its founder. Thomas Aquinas once asked him where he got his extensive knowledge. Bonaventure pointed to the crucifix on his desk. “That is the source of all my knowledge,” he said. “I study only Jesus Christ, and Him crucifi ed.” Bonaventure had received the holy kiss of the divine nature of Jesus. * * * Set aside a portion of time today to read Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2. As a follower of Christ, what are you “determined to know” or be or do (verse 2)? Is it what Christ wants for you? Then spend time thinking about the words, “We have the mind of Christ” (verse 16). How would your life change if you embraced this truth?

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? — 1 Corinthians 15:55

The minister, who took his ecumenical and—some felt—slightly impersonal remarks from Saint Paul’s sermon on Love from First Corinthians, talked for about half an hour. (“Didn’t you feel that was a very inappropriate text?” said Julian, who had a pagan’s gloomy view of death coupled with a horror of the non-specific.)

The speaker points out the nature of the triumphal procession in 2 Corinthians 2:16-17. He shows that to the victors the aroma of the triumphal procession was sweet but that to the captured prisoners it represented an impending death. 5000 prisoners were necessary for a triumphal procession, and, by contrast, God drew 5000 to Himself in Acts 2.

Sabato ilianzishwa na Mungu siku ya saba ya uumbaji wake. Siku ya Sabato ni siku takatifu, iliyoko katika Amri Kumi za Mungu, ambayo hatuna budi kuitunza na kuiheshimu. Sheria ya Siku ya Sabato haikufa baada ya kifo cha Yesu Kristo msalabani kama Wakolosai wanavyodai. Wakolosai walifuata falsafa za kipagani, na walizileta falsafa hizo ndani ya mwili wa Kristo ambalo ni kanisa. ‘Usiiamini’ Wakolosai 2:17. Iamini Wakolosai 2:20-23, ambapo Paulo anafundisha Mataifa jinsi ya kuitunza Sabato, na 1 Wakorintho 12:27 ambayo inatoa maana halisi ya Wakolosai 2:17. ‘Mwili wako ni wa Kristo’ ni tofauti na ‘mwili wa Kristo’ na ni tofauti na kanisa. Ukiamini kama mwili wako ni wa Kristo na ni kanisa, utaitunza Sabato.

By God’s design, the Scripture presents the messiah in terms of a mosaic profile that can only be discerned after the pieces are assembled. Paul tells us why in 1 Corinthians 2:6–8. If the plan of God for the messiah’s mission had been clear, the powers of darkness would never have killed Jesus—they would have known that his death and resurrection were the key to reclaiming the nations forever.

The apocalyptic scope of 2 Corinthians 5 was obscured by older translations that rendered the crucial phrase in verse 17 as “he is a new creation” (RSV) or—worse yet—“he is a new creature” (KJV). Such translations seriously distort Paul’s meaning by making it appear that he is describing only the personal transformation of the individual through conversion experience. The sentence in Greek, however, lacks both subject and verb; a very literal translation might treat the words “new creation” as an exclamatory interjection: “If anyone is in Christ—new creation!” The NRSV has rectified matters by rendering the passage, “If anyone is in Christ there is a new creation.” Paul is not merely talking about an individual’s subjective experience of renewal through conversion; rather, for Paul, ktisis (“creation”) refers to the whole created order (cf. Rom. 8:18–25). He is proclaiming the apocalyptic message that through the cross God has nullified the kosmos of sin and death and brought a new kosmos into being. That is why Paul can describe himself and his readers as those “on whom the ends of the ages have met” (1 Cor. 10:11).14 The old age is passing away (cf. 1 Cor. 7:31b), the new age has appeared in Christ, and the church stands at the juncture between them.

Christ our Passover Pascha nostrum 1 Corinthians 5: 7-8; Romans 6: 9-11; 1 Corinthians 15: 20-22 Alleluia. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; * therefore let us keep the feast, Not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, * but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia. Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; * death no longer has dominion over him. The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all; * but the life he lives, he lives to God. So also consider yourselves dead to sin, * and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia. Christ has been raised from the dead, * the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by a man came death, * by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, * so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.

What they were claiming was that they had all, at one time or another, met Jesus during the six or seven weeks that followed His death. Sometimes they seem to have been alone when they did so, but on one occasion twelve of them saw Him together, and on another occasion about five hundred of them. St Paul says that the majority of the five hundred were still alive when he wrote the First Letter to the Corinthians, i.e. in about 55 AD.

Take David, the man after God’s own heart. For decades, he held on to God’s promise that he would become king. But then he gave up and moved to Goliath’s native country, where he worked for the Philistine king and fought the wrong battles (1 Samuel 27). Abraham, the father of faith, had bad days. He once ran away from the promised land and lied about his wife being his sister to protect himself (Genesis 20). Why? He was afraid. The apostle Paul begged God three times to take away a painful trial that was far too heavy for him to carry (2 Corinthians 12:7–8). Elijah, the mightiest of the miracle-working prophets, had a total emotional breakdown when a woman cussed him out. He ended up running away from home, hiding under a tree, and wishing for death (1 Kings 19:4). The prophet Jeremiah got so stressed out that he told God he was never going to preach again (Jeremiah 20:9). And then there’s John the Baptist. Jesus said that he is the best person ever to be born of a woman. He had such a big crisis of faith in prison that he doubted whether he had made the right choice in baptizing Jesus as the Messiah (Luke 7:20).

How have we grown since God allowed Laura’s death? We certainly have experienced the principle of 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4—being able to comfort others with His comfort. Also Romans 8:38—nothing can separate us from His love. And there is more—somehow I felt like I was able to ‘grow up’ in Him a little more, to know that He is so much greater than I thought He was, that His truth stands any test, and that, as Lewis says, He is not a tame lion. I learned to trust and fear and love Him better. We also have a ‘treasure’ in Heaven. And the Lord has given us two sweet daughters since then.

Any language of exclusion or superiority no longer makes sense to you. Inside your True Self, you know you are not alone, and you foundationally “belong” to God and to the universe (1 Corinthians 3:23). You no longer have to work to feel important. You are intrinsically important, and it has all been “done unto you” (Luke 1:38), just as it was with Mary, who made no claims of worthiness or unworthiness. And if God so gratuitously and graciously includes you here and now in this world, why would such a God change God's mind in the next world? Love is the one eternal thing and takes away your foundational fear of death. This is very good stuff.

One of the first things I discovered was that Paul did not write all the letters attributed to him in the New Testament. Only seven of them are judged by scholars to be authentic: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon, and Romans. The rest—Colossians, Ephesians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus, known as the Deutero-Pauline letters—were written in his name after his death, some as late as the second century. These were not forgeries in our sense; it was common in the ancient world to write under the pseudonym of an admired sage or philosopher. These posthumous epistles tried to rein Paul in and make his radical teachings more acceptable to the Greco-Roman world. It was these later writers who insisted that women be subservient to their husbands and that slaves must obey their masters.

April 26 MORNING “This do in remembrance of Me.” — 1 Corinthians 11:24 IT seems then, that Christians may forget Christ! There could be no need for this loving exhortation, if there were not a fearful supposition that our memories might prove treacherous. Nor is this a bare supposition: it is, alas! too well confirmed in our experience, not as a possibility, but as a lamentable fact. It appears almost impossible that those who have been redeemed by the blood of the dying Lamb, and loved with an everlasting love by the eternal Son of God, should forget that gracious Saviour; but, if startling to the ear, it is, alas! too apparent to the eye to allow us to deny the crime. Forget Him who never forgot us! Forget Him who poured His blood forth for our sins! Forget Him who loved us even to the death! Can it be possible? Yes, it is not only possible, but conscience confesses that it is too sadly a fault with all of us, that we suffer Him to be as a wayfaring man tarrying but for a night. He whom we should make the abiding tenant of our memories is but a visitor therein. The cross where one would think that memory would linger, and unmindfulness would be an unknown intruder, is desecrated by the feet of forgetfulness. Does not your conscience say that this is true? Do you not find yourselves forgetful of Jesus? Some creature steals away your heart, and you are unmindful of Him upon whom your affection ought to be set. Some earthly business engrosses your attention when you should fix your eye steadily upon the cross. It is the incessant turmoil of the world, the constant attraction of earthly things which takes away the soul from Christ. While memory too well preserves a poisonous weed, it suffereth the rose of Sharon to wither. Let us charge ourselves to bind a heavenly forget-me-not about our hearts for Jesus our Beloved, and, whatever else we let slip, let us hold fast to Him.

And in no way is the gospel story sentimental or escapist. Indeed, the gospel takes evil and loss with utmost seriousness, because it says that we cannot save ourselves. Nothing short of the death of the very Son of God can save us. But the “happy ending” of the historical resurrection is so enormous that it swallows up even the sorrow of the Cross. It is so great that those who believe it can henceforth fully face the depth of the sorrow and brokenness of life. If we disbelieve the gospel, we may weep for joy at the happy ending of some other inspiring story, but the enchantment will quickly fade, because our minds will tell us “life is not really like that.” But if we believe the gospel, then our hearts slowly heal even as we face the darkest times because we know that, because of Jesus, life is like that. Then even our griefs, even the dyscatastrophes we know, will be taken up into the miraculous grace of God’s purposes. “Death has been swallowed up in victory.... Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54 and 57).

At the end of the same summer, Aristeus the Corinthian, the Lacedaemonian ambassadors Aneristus, Nicolaus, and Stratodemus, Timagoras of Tegea, and Pollis of Argos who had no public mission, were on their way to Asia in the hope of persuading the King to give them money and join in the war. […] On the very day of their arrival the Athenians, fearing that Aristeus, whom they considered to be the cause of all their troubles at Potidaea and in Chalcidicè, would do them still further mischief if he escaped, put them all to death without trial and without hearing what they wanted to say; they then threw their bodies down precipices. They considered that they had a right to retaliate on the Lacedaemonians, who had begun by treating in the same way the traders of the Athenians and their allies when they caught their vessels off the coast of Peloponnesus. For at the commencement of the war, all whom the Lacedaemonians captured at sea were treated by them as enemies and indiscriminately slaughtered, whether they were allies of the Athenians or neutrals. (Book 2 Chapter 67)

—and I say you still haven't answered my question, Father Bleu." "Haven't I, dear lady? I thought I stated that death is merely the beginning of—" "No, no, no!" Her voice was as high as a harpy's. "Don't go all gooey and metaphysical. I mean to ask, what is death the act, the situation, the moment?" She watched him foxily. The priest in turn struggled to remain polite. "Madame, I'm not positive I follow." "Let me say it another way. Most people are afraid of dying, yes?" "I disagree. Not those who find mystical union with the body of Christ in—" "Oh, come off it!" Madame Kagle shrilled. "People are frightened of it, Father Bleu. Frightened and screaming their fear silently every hour of every day they live. Now I put it to you. Of what are they afraid? Are they afraid of the end of consciousness? The ultimate blackout, so to speak? Or are they afraid of another aspect of death? The one which they can't begin to foresee or understand?" "What aspect is that, Madame Kagle?" "The pain." She glared. "The pain, Father. Possibly sudden. Possibly horrible. Waiting, always waiting somewhere ahead, at an unguessable junction of time and place. Like that bootboy tonight. How it must have hurt. One blinding instant when his head hit, eh? I suggest, Father Bleu, that is what we're afraid of, that is the wholly unknowable part of dying—the screaming, hurting how, of which the when is only a lesser part. The how is the part we never know. Unless we experience it." She slurped champagne in the silence. She eyed him defiantly. "Well, Father? What have you got to say?" Discreetly Father Bleu coughed into his closed fist. "Theologically, Madame, I find the attempt to separate the mystical act of dying into neat little compartments rather a matter of hairsplitting. And furthermore—" "If that's how you feel," she interrupted, "you're just not thinking it out." "My good woman!" said Father Bleu gently. "Pay attention to me!" Madame Wanda Kagle glared furiously. "I say you pay attention! Because you have never stopped to think about it, have you? If death resembles going to sleep, why, that's an idea your mind can get hold of, isn't it? You may be afraid of it, yes. Afraid of the end of everything. But at least you can get hold of some notion of something of what it's like. Sleep. But can you get hold of anything of what it must feel like to experience the most agonizing of deaths? Your head popping open like that bootboy's tonight, say? A thousand worms of pain inside every part of you for a second long as eternity? Can you grasp that? No, you can't, Father Bleu. And that's what death is at it's worst—the unknown, the possibly harrowing pain ahead." She clamped her lips together smugly. She held out her champagne glass for a refill. A woman in furs clapped a hand over her fashionably green lips and rushed from the group. Though puzzled, Joy was still all eyes and ears. "Even your blessed St. Paul bears me out, Father." The priest glanced up, startled. "What?" "The first letter to the Corinthians, if I remember. The grave has a victory, all right. But it's death that has the sting." In the pause the furnace door behind her eyes opened wide, and hell shone out. "I know what I'm talking about, Father. I've been there." Slowly she closed her fingers, crushing the champagne glass in her hand. Weeping, blood drooling from her palm down her frail veined arms, she had to be carried out. The party broke up at once.

-Eternal Life- I had a dream of a place where everything was at peace. There was no more pain, no hurting or crying, A place where death forever ceased. There was no more hunger or disease Nor, nations rising up against each other. All pride and jealousy were swallowed up in the final battle. The King has returned, so let us all rejoice. We all gathered there to meet As people assembled to pay homage at His feet. Even the creatures on earth and in heaven came to proclaim His eternal, sweet and precious name. There we will reign with Him forevermore, As we crowned Him King of kings and Lord of lords. I am surrounded by thousands and thousands Of angelic hosts singing His praises. Oh, what a sweet sound which will continue throughout the ages. I turned to see our loved ones who had gone on before us We rejoiced with each other as we joined the endless chorus. Our new bodies, how perfect we are designed. Oh, the wisdom and knowledge of God How unsearchable are His ways, There will be joy and peace throughout the eternal days. There in that holy place forever we will be, The earth shall be full of His knowledge and glory As waters that cover the sea. When I woke up from that beautiful dream I gave thanks to Jesus Christ my Savior, Who will forever reign supreme. So, read to me the Word of Life page by page God’s eternal love will never age. I Corinthians 15: 51-55 Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Romans 8: 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

IT’S ONLY SOUND Let me ask you an honest question. Is your music subject to God’s approval? If you discovered that He desired for you to listen to a different kind of music, would you obey willingly and gladly? Or would you resist and cling to “what you like”? Recently in a counseling session, I was speaking with a teenage young man about the power of music. After some thought about how strongly his music was holding on to his heart, he lifted his head, sort of chuckled and said, “It’s kind of strange when you really think about it…it’s only music…it’s only sound.” Oh, but how powerful that sound is! Just try to take away or suggest danger in the favorite CD or the favorite CCM group of a supposedly “surrendered” Christian. You’ll get everything from rage to ridicule—real fruits of the Spirit—all qualities that are produced by just such “good, godly music.” I’m being intentionally sarcastic to cause you to think. If pop-styled Christian music is so spiritually effective, why aren’t we having revival? Why isn’t it producing more holy, more separated, more godly individuals? Why are young people leaving Christianity in record numbers? Why do we have to have the world’s music? Should music really be such a stronghold in the Christian heart or in the local church? Should such self-absorption be the guiding force of our choices in entertainment? Should we view our music as entertainment at all? Does God really like “all kinds” of music? Music has a much higher purpose than our pleasure. Reducing music to mere entertainment would be something like asking a brain surgeon to roast marshmallows for a living. No, music is much too powerful and spiritually significant to reduce it to a petty place of pleasure. First Corinthians 10:14 admonishes us, “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.” Again in Colossians 3:5 we’re told to, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” God commands us to “mortify” or “put to death” our “members.” Anything less than full surrender of our bodies (including our ears) to God is a subtle form of idolatry. Is music an idol in your life? Is it a stronghold? Are you addicted to your style, your group, your sound? Do you find yourself putting up a wall of defense in your heart, even as you read these words? Is your primary concern that it “makes you feel good” or that you listen to “what you like”? Think about it. It’s only sound.

Everyone wants to be successful rather than forgotten, and everyone wants to make a difference in life. But that is beyond the control of any of us. If this life is all there is, then everything will eventually burn up in the death of the sun and no one will even be around to remember anything that has ever happened. Everyone will be forgotten, nothing we do will make any difference, and all good endeavors, even the best, will come to naught. Unless there is God. If the God of the Bible exists, and there is a True Reality beneath and behind this one, and this life is not the only life, then every good endeavor, even the simplest ones, pursued in response to God’s calling, can matter forever. That is what the Christian faith promises. “In the Lord, your labor is not in vain,” writes Paul in the first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 58. He was speaking of Christian ministry, but Tolkien’s story shows how this can ultimately be true of all work. Tolkien had readied himself, through Christian truth, for very modest accomplishment in the eyes of this world. (The irony is that he produced something so many people consider a work of genius that it is one of the bestselling books in the history of the world.) What about you? Let’s say that you go into city planning as a young person. Why? You are excited about cities, and you have a vision about how a real city ought to be. You are likely to be discouraged because throughout your life you probably will not get more than a leaf or a branch done. But there really is a New Jerusalem, a heavenly city, which will come down to earth like a bride dressed for her husband (Revelation 21–22). Or let’s say you are a lawyer, and you go into law because you have a vision for justice and a vision for a flourishing society ruled by equity and peace. In ten years you will be deeply disillusioned because you will find that as much as you are trying to work on important things, so much of what you do is minutiae. Once or twice in your life you may feel like you have finally “gotten a leaf out.” Whatever your work, you need to know this: There really is a tree. Whatever you are seeking in your work—the city of justice and peace, the world of brilliance and beauty, the story, the order, the healing—it is there. There is a God, there is a future healed world that he will bring about, and your work is showing it (in part) to others. Your work will be only partially successful, on your best days, in bringing that world about. But inevitably the whole tree that you seek—the beauty, harmony, justice, comfort, joy, and community—will come to fruition. If you know all this, you won’t be despondent because you can get only a leaf or two out in this life. You will work with satisfaction and joy. You will not be puffed up by success or devastated by setbacks. I just said, “If you know all this.” In order to work in this way—to get the consolation and freedom that Tolkien received from his Christian faith for his work—you need to know the Bible’s answers to three questions: Why do you want to work? (That is, why do we need to work in order to lead a fulfilled life?) Why is it so hard to work? (That is, why is it so often fruitless, pointless, and difficult?) How can we overcome the difficulties and find satisfaction in our work through the gospel? The rest of this book will seek to answer those three questions in its three sections, respectively.

Throughout the history of the church, Christians have tended to elevate the importance of one over the other. For the first 1,500 years of the church, singleness was considered the preferred state and the best way to serve Christ. Singles sat at the front of the church. Marrieds were sent to the back.4 Things changed after the Reformation in 1517, when single people were sent to the back and marrieds moved to the front — at least among Protestants.5 Scripture, however, refers to both statuses as weighty, meaningful vocations. We’ll spend more time on each later in the chapter, but here is a brief overview. Marrieds. This refers to a man and woman who form a one-flesh union through a covenantal vow — to God, to one another, and to the larger community — to permanently, freely, faithfully, and fruitfully love one another. Adam and Eve provide the clearest biblical model for this. As a one-flesh couple, they were called by God to take initiative to “be fruitful . . . fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). Singles. Scripture teaches that human beings are created for intimacy and connection with God, themselves, and one another. Marriage is one framework in which we work this out; singleness is another. While singleness may be voluntarily chosen or involuntarily imposed, temporary or long-term, a sudden event or a gradual unfolding, Christian singleness can be understood within two distinct callings: • Vowed celibates. These are individuals who make lifelong vows to remain single and maintain lifelong sexual abstinence as a means of living out their commitment to Christ. They do this freely in response to a God-given gift of grace (Matthew 19:12). Today, we are perhaps most familiar with vowed celibates as nuns and priests in the Roman Catholic or Orthodox Church. These celibates vow to forgo earthly marriage in order to participate more fully in the heavenly reality that is eternal union with Christ.6 • Dedicated celibates. These are singles who have not necessarily made a lifelong vow to remain single, but who choose to remain sexually abstinent for as long as they are single. Their commitment to celibacy is an expression of their commitment to Christ. Many desire to marry or are open to the possibility. They may have not yet met the right person or are postponing marriage to pursue a career or additional education. They may be single because of divorce or the death of a spouse. The apostle Paul acknowledges such dedicated celibates in his first letter to the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 7). Understanding singleness and marriage as callings or vocations must inform our self-understanding and the outworking of our leadership. Our whole life as a leader is to bear witness to God’s love for the world. But we do so in different ways as marrieds or singles. Married couples bear witness to the depth of Christ’s love. Their vows focus and limit them to loving one person exclusively, permanently, and intimately. Singles — vowed or dedicated — bear witness to the breadth of Christ’s love. Because they are not limited by a vow to one person, they have more freedom and time to express the love of Christ to a broad range of people. Both marrieds and singles point to and reveal Christ’s love, but in different ways. Both need to learn from one another about these different aspects of Christ’s love. This may be a radically new concept for you, but stay with me. God intends this rich theological vision to inform our leadership in ways few of us may have considered. Before exploring the connections between leadership and marriage or singleness, it’s important to understand the way marriage and singleness are commonly understood in standard practice among leaders today.

By man death has gained its power over men; by the Word made Man death has been destroyed and life raised up anew. That is what Paul says, that true servant of Christ: “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. Just as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Paul clearly believed that all death, even in the form of eschatological punishment, will one day be overcome or abolished; for as he explicitly stated in 1 Corinthians 15: 26, death is the last enemy that Christ shall overcome or abolish.

Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 2 Corinthians 7:8–11 Paul makes a distinction between two kinds of sorrow in this passage. These two sorrows possess different traits and produce opposite results, but we easily confuse them because they share the most obvious element—the sorrow itself. We rarely question deep remorse, stinging regret, or impassioned pleas for forgiveness. Paul knows better than this. By using a comparison, he shows the Corinthians that all sorrow is not created equal.

Godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10

We who live are always given over to death because of Jesus, so that Jesus' life may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. 2 Corinthians 4:11

Jesus had four brothers (see Matthew 13:55) who couldn’t bring themselves to believe in Him throughout His ministry. It wasn’t until after His death and resurrection that they truly believed. What kind of transition would a person have to make in his mental framework to conclude that his older brother is the Creator of the universe? The transition was so huge that his brothers almost didn’t make it. Jesus, in His mercy, helped them by appearing personally after His resurrection to the half-brother who was closest in age to Him (see 1 Corinthians 15:7). Guess who wrote these words: “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.” Jesus’ brother! James was Jesus’ younger brother (the verse above is from James 3:16). I can hear James saying, “Guys, envy almost ate me alive! Envy was such a huge issue in my heart, it almost cost me my salvation.” James was able to address the topic of envy from the authority of personal experience.

death is the enemy; indeed, it is the “last enemy,” says 1 Corinthians 15:26. When the psalmist, then, prays for deliverance from death, he is talking about a great deal more than a physical phenomenon. Death is the “last enemy,” the physical symbol of our sinful alienation from God: “For in death there is no memory of You; in the grave, who will give You thanks?” Sin

Paul said in II Corinthians 5:8, "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." Every saint who is absent from the body is present with the Lord Jesus in Heaven. At death the soul of the Christian is carried by the angels of God straight Home where Christ and the Father are.

Paul does not say what precisely had happened, but he tells the Corinthians the effect that it had on him (in a deliberate and completely justifiable plea for personal sympathy): he was so utterly overwhelmed, beyond any capacity to cope, that he despaired of life itself (1:8). He felt as though he had received the sentence of death in himself (1:9). This language—internalizing a death-sentence—sounds close to what we might call a nervous breakdown, and certainly indicates severe depression.

Without freedom, both the possibilities for people to love and to destroy would be eliminated. The problem of evil is the problem of freedom. God is Love incarnate (1), and despite the high amount of choice that He allows, He also is bursting to lavish His Love not merely on the perfect, which existed solely in Christ, but on the imperfect who could never deserve it by virtue of their imperfection (2). He does not completely shield the more deserving, not even the sole perfect One in all of human history, from destruction, yet He loves to redeem and restore, even through death at times as with His only begotten Son (3). His love is completely undeserved for the imperfect, despite their notions at times of amassing karma by their good deeds, yet He loves to pour out grace on the undeserving (4). Everything good in our existence, including the very life that we have, the air that we breathe, and even the good things that we do are by His mercy and grace (5). May all praise be to the One who has lavished loving-kindness on us in times of plenty and in times of want, who even seeks to grow us in the darkest of times when the cost of freedom is most clear, who remains with those who have found Him even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death (6). 1: 1 John 4:16; 2: Romans 3:9-31; 9:16, 23-29; 11:5-6 3. Job, Isaiah 53:3-6, 11 (prophesied centuries before Christ), Romans 3:24-26, 2 Corinthians 5:21 4. Romans 5:6-8; 11: 35-36, Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:7-9, Psalm 50:7-15 5. James 1:17, Romans 2:4 6. Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1:3-10, James 1:2-5, Philippians 4:4-9, Psalm 23, Deuteronomy 31:8

...And looking back, at least we got to state our love...before our world in Orleans ended in a symphony of broken glass. Earlier that evening, I had sat on the porch with Matthieu-Michele, as Cross and Christy watched over their Grandpa Timothy's comatose body in the back bedroom. I looked down into Timothy's face and wept. Timmy already looked dead. He was deathly pale, and his hair was heavily streaked with grey. "Don't cry, Uncle Obadiah," Matthieu-Michele said tenderly. "Just have faith, and love Him. Believe in Him, and keep preaching His Word." "And here I thought that you were a man of science, like your Daddy Matt." "I cannot be both?" he smiled gently, as he took my hand and led me out on the back porch. He lowered me into a chair, and seated himself beside me. "Look at the stars," he said softly. "However could I believe in the vastness and the great wonder of the universe itself, and not in He who created it? Science and Theology go hand-in-hand; they are not polar opposites. We must remember, the Holy Bible is only a guide. God isn't just a quick-fix solution for all of our problems. He isn't a pill that we pop to make everything go away. Instead, He is a shepherd, looking out for us...loving us from a great distance and calling out to us constantly...and sometimes, things get lost in the translation. We, for example, as men, will try to weave our own selfish desires and prejudices in with His. That is the greatest sin of all, the great sin of mankind. It frightens people away from His Word and His Grace. They believe that He hates them, that it’s the voice of God condemning them, rather than the blackened hearts of the misguided men who twist His words to suit their doctrine of anger and misunderstanding. Their words are straight from the evil core of mankind, who, in their foolishness, try to take on the guise of God." I leaned upon him heavily, the tears wet upon my cheeks. "And to think that there were times when I wondered if I did any good at all," I sighed, "But His Word lives in your heart." Matthieu-Michele embraced me in his wings. "Uncle, you are a wonder!" he smiled. "Never doubt it. My father couldn't ask for a better vessel for His Word." "I love you, Boy," I whispered. "You and Croccifixio and Christophe...we will always be family, and nothing will ever part us--" ~*~*~*~ ...And it was over, just like that. It happened so quickly. The window in the front room exploded in a rain of glass, and two soldiers seized Arik. Two came for me as well, and I surrendered. Arik struggled, and was silenced with a blow to the back of the head. Matthieu-Michele--who had been behind me--was mysteriously absent, and Cross, Christy, Morgan and Simone were nowhere in sight. Matthieu-Michele must have thrown up a psychic bubble around them, and around Timothy's body, as Arik and I were manacled and taken out into the street. A barred wagon awaited us there, and we were roughly forced into it...

But what about my house in Heaven?" I asked, my tone soft and piteous. "Whatever would I do there? It's filled with my memories of Obadiah. We built it together with our own hands. We laid the marble and carved the statues. I sewed the curtains, the bedclothes and the tapestries. I even created the flowers and the landscaping which surrounded our grand mansion beside the sea…" I begin to sob, and Arik pulls me close. I rest my cheek against his chest and close my eyes. "Wh-When we first got to Heaven--me an' Obadiah--we were all each other had. Everyone else was still down on earth, mournin' us. Our physical bodies had been destroyed by Hana's guillotines. Timothy knew that his own death was comin', and he had specifically asked for the two of us to go and make a place for him in Heaven. When we arrived, Heaven was beautiful, but empty. I was suddenly able to see again, and the colors…my heart just danced, y'know? I began to create right away: houses, flowers, animals…it was glorious. I was never happier. It filled up my heart and pushed out the anguish an' guilt that I felt about leavin' all of you behind on earth to suffer. Obadiah and I were filled with so much joy then. I had never seen him so happy. An' the horses, Arik…the horses were his…beautiful, winged creatures, completely dedicated to him, but forever free...he would never have dreamed of restraining them. We would sit on the lanai and watch them...these beautiful creatures, who had nothing in their hearts but love…" I snuggle closer as he presses my head against his chest and weeps with me.

Christ died not only as a sacrifice, but also as our substitute. He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death. In Romans 8:3, Paul tells us that God sent “His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.” He took the place of sinners, dying a substitutionary death that paid the full penalty for the sin of all who believe. This death satisfied God’s wrath. Once again Paul hammers away at the false teaching of the Colossian heretics that Christ was a mere spirit being. On the contrary, Paul insists, He died as a man for men. Were that not true, there could be no reconciliation for any person. THE AIM OF RECONCILIATION in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach (1:22b) God’s ultimate goal in reconciliation is to present His elect holy and pure before Him. Paul expressed a similar desire for the Corinthians: “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin” (2 Cor. 11:2). Jude tells us that we will one day “stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy” (Jude 24). Such purification is necessary if sinners are to stand in the presence of a holy God.

Moreover, the government of the world was now made subservient to the interests of the Church of Jesus Christ. And this kingship of Christ will last until the victory over the enemies is complete and even death has been abolished, 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. At the consummation of all things the God-man will give up the authority conferred on Him for a special purpose, since it will no more be needed. He will return His commission to God, that God may be all in all. The purpose is accomplished; mankind is redeemed; and thereby the original kingship of man is restored.

For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the death. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

When Paul makes a distinction between our outer self and our inner self he is not simply referring to the division of the human person into body and soul.[1] The “outer self” denotes embodied human existence that is subject to aging, weakness, affliction, sickness, and ultimately physical death; in short, it is a synonym for human beings as “earthen vessels” (2 Cor 4:7). Paul does not deny that, from this perspective, he is wasting away. Nevertheless, he is not discouraged, because his “inner self” is being renewed day by day. The “inner self” refers to human existence that is transformed and strengthened by the indwelling of God’s Spirit (Eph 3:16); it is equivalent to “the ‘I’ of Gal 2:20 who by faith has grasped the reality of new life in Christ.”[2]

its basic sense in Paul’s writings, grace refers to God’s redemptive love as manifested in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and is conferred on us by the Holy Spirit. Paul

Third, whereas the Mosaic covenant was temporary (vv. 10–11; see Gal 3:23–25), the new covenant endures forever (v. 11). A key verb in this passage and the following verses is katargeō (vv. 7, 11, 13, 14—all in the passive voice). Although many translations, including the NAB, render katargeō as “fade” in verses 7, 11, and 13, this meaning does not correspond to Paul’s usage elsewhere. Rather, he uses this verb to explain that the old covenant ministry “has been set aside” or “rendered inoperative.”[14] Because God has now acted once for all through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and through the sending of the Spirit, the new covenant ministry is marked by permanence.

With that in mind, there are several important observations to make with respect to this text. First, Paul is talking about an ongoing process, as evidenced by the adverb “always” and the present tense of the participle “carrying.” Second, he emphasizes the embodied or incarnate nature of this process—it is something that occurs “in the body.” Third, Paul refers to a graphic aspect of the story of Jesus, his nekrōsis. While this term can denote the state of “deadness” (i.e., the result of dying),[5] the NAB appropriately stresses a slightly different nuance, namely, the process or action that results in death.

What does it mean to always bear in one’s body the nekrōsis of Jesus? Paul’s stress on ongoing experience only makes sense if the expression “the dying,” or putting to death, “of Jesus” refers to more than the actual crucifixion itself, although that is certainly included. Paul’s language suggests that he is referring more broadly to Jesus’ entire way of life, one that was marked by suffering and privation (e.g., Luke 9:58).[

This was a spectacle held in Rome to celebrate a great military victory. The victorious army showed off the spoils of war and paraded their defeated enemies, some of whom were led to execution. What is surprising, if not shocking, is how Paul uses this metaphor. He portrays God as the conquering general and himself as a captured prisoner being led to death!

The key word in this verse is “rescue.” The Greek verb, which can also be translated “draw out of danger,” appears three times in this verse. First, Paul testifies that God has already rescued him from such great danger of death. This refers to how God delivered him from the affliction that befell him in Asia. Second, Paul confidently states that God will continue to rescue him—thereby expressing his renewed and deepened trust in God. Third, Paul continues, in him we have put our hope [that] he will also rescue us again. This can be taken in two ways. The NAB’s translation suggests that Paul is reiterating that God will continue to rescue him, while adding the nuance of hope.

The key to understanding Paul’s meaning is to appreciate that he uses the word “sin” (hamartia) in two different senses here. In saying that Jesus did not know “sin,” he intends the typical meaning of the word: Jesus was never guilty of deliberate infidelity to God’s will. At the same time, Paul draws on a technical use of hamartia in the †Septuagint to refer to the “sin offering.” As described in Lev 4:1–5:13, the sin offering involved the sacrifice of an unblemished animal in reparation for transgressions that broke one’s relationship with God. Paul thus alludes to the sinless Christ’s death as a sacrifice for our sins,[14] which is how Jesus himself interpreted his death at the Last Supper (Matt 26:26–

Paul again actualizes the text, acknowledging that he is chastised—for instance, by the sufferings inflicted on him by others. But he does not interpret this as others do, namely, as God’s punishment. Rather, Paul interprets his chastisements in light of the divine discipline bestowed on those whom God loves (see Prov 3:11–12).[12] He understands that “at the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it” (Heb 12:11). And as was the case with the psalmist, although he is chastised the Apostle is yet not put to death.

The key is determining the correct meaning of the expression we shall not be found naked. The thrust of his presentation suggests that it is best to interpret being “found naked” as “overcome by death.”[7] Paul contrasts the image of being clothed (having a resurrection body for eternity) with being naked (remaining in a permanent state of death).

The how and when of resurrection. Second Corinthians 5:1–5 can be supplemented by other passages in which Paul discusses death and the resurrection of the body in order to fill out the picture of his teaching on these subjects. In 1 Thess 4:13–18 and 1 Cor 15:51–55, he makes clear that it is at the parousia, at Jesus’ coming again in glory at the end of time, that the dead will be raised. Nevertheless, Paul was also convinced that at his death he would “be with Christ” (Phil 1:23). What the Apostle leaves unstated is what happens between one’s death and the resurrection on the last day. The Catholic Church teaches that at the moment of death the soul is separated from the body. Although the body is subject to decay, the soul goes to meet God. Moreover, at the appointed time, “God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus’ Resurrection” (Catechism, 997).

When Paul asserts that God was reconciling “the world,” he refers specifically to human beings. He goes on to make explicit what reconciliation involves: not counting their trespasses against them. The Greek verb for “count” or “reckon” is an accounting term. Paul employs it to signify that through Christ’s death “for all” God has wiped clear from the debit ledger the transgressions of those who have availed themselves of his gift of reconciliation.

When Paul uses dōrea (“gift”) elsewhere, he indicates God’s work of redemption accomplished through Christ Jesus (Rom 5:15, 17; Eph 3:7; 4:7). The Apostle therefore offers thanksgiving to God first and foremost for the gift of salvation, the gift of reconciliation effected through the death and resurrection of Christ. He believes—and wants the Corinthians to appreciate—that the collection is an expression of this divine dōrea.

connotes being kind, gentle, and modest toward other people; in one’s relationship with God, it means reverent submission to his will. Jesus invited people to learn from him because he is “gentle” (praus) and humble of heart (Matt 11:29). Moreover, in the days before his passion, he entered Jerusalem as a “meek” (praus) king riding on a beast of burden, not on a war horse (Matt 21:5). Both in his teachings and actions, Jesus chose to exercise power and authority in a spirit of gentleness and humility (see 1 Cor 4:21, where Paul aspires to the same ideal). The term epieikeia indicates forbearance, which is how Paul uses it elsewhere.[2] Jesus’ forbearance was most evident in his teaching to love one’s enemies (Matt 5:38–48; Luke 6:27–36), in his nonretaliation during the passion, and in his prayer to God to forgive those who put him to death (Luke 23:34).

This succinct statement points to two realities. First, the enslaving dominion of sin and death—those cosmic forces unleashed at the first Adam’s disobedience—has been broken (Rom 5:12–14) through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the †new, or second, Adam. Second, because they are no longer shackled, Christians can walk in the Spirit (Gal 5:16) by offering themselves freely in self-giving love for others. In fact, Paul has a paradoxical way of describing this Spirit-driven exercise of freedom: “become slaves of one another through love” (Gal 5:13, my translation; see 2 Cor 4:5).

In the meantime, even though the enslaving reign of sin and death (Rom 5:12–14) has been broken, Satan still exercises power as he attempts to foil the spread of the gospel (see 1 Thess 2:18). Paul thus acknowledges the malignant influence of Satan in the present. Nevertheless, he insists on people’s ability to choose for or against the gospel.[16]

The NAB’s “enormously powerful” translates a phrase that is better rendered “powerful because of God.” That is, Paul’s use of battle imagery serves to highlight God’s power. It might seem surprising that the Apostle speaks about battles and weapons immediately after invoking Jesus’ gentleness and forbearance. But with this juxtaposition Paul captures the paradox of how God’s power is made known. Above all, God’s power has been revealed in Jesus’ death on the cross. Through this climactic expression of Jesus’ humble, self-giving love, the powers of sin and death were defeated (Rom 5:12–21; 1 Cor 1:18–25).

That God brings consolation to the tapeinoi (the “lowly,” “humble”) recalls what Paul intimated in 4:13, where he reads the †Septuagint version of Ps 116 as a summary of the story of Jesus: just as God raised and exalted Christ, who “humbled (etapeinôsen) himself” and was obedient unto death (see Phil 2:8), so will he raise those

it is important to pay close attention here for clues that foreshadow significant themes. He will insist throughout this letter that God brings encouragement in the midst of suffering and affliction (e.g., 4:8; 7:6). Another important theme is introduced in verse 5, where he refers to Christ’s sufferings. Paul will expound on the role Christ’s suffering and death played in God’s act of reconciling the world to himself (5:14–

Significantly, the story of Ps 116 closely resembles the story of Jesus as told in Phil 2:6–11. That hymn portrays Jesus as one who emptied himself and took on the form of a “slave” (Phil 2:7),[12] “humbled,” or lowered, himself,[13] and became obedient unto “death” (2:8). And it goes on to declare that God regarded Jesus’ death as precious and thus vindicated him (“Because of this, God greatly exalted him”—2:9). Paul evokes the story of Ps 116 because it resembles the story of Jesus. Thus it is Jesus whom Paul has in mind in quoting the psalm. In Paul’s mind, Jesus is the protagonist of the story told there; he is the one who took on the form of a slave, who humbled himself even more, who gave himself for others, suffered, and offered his life in obedience to God, and who was vindicated and exalted. Thus in Paul’s reading of the psalm, it is Christ who speaks the cited words, which can be rendered: “I have been faithful, therefore I have spoken.”[

He now makes clear that his motivation is love. Just as Jesus’ manner of living, which culminated in his death on the cross, was an expression of his love (5:14), so is Paul’s commitment to minister to the Corinthians without taking financial remuneration from them. Indeed,

The †paschal mystery—God’s bringing about new life through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—is at the center of Paul’s understanding of life in the Spirit (1:3–7; 4:7–15). Christians participate in the paschal mystery by entering into the dynamic of Christ’s self-offering for the sake of others, trusting in God to bring life—to others and to oneself—out of one’s various “dyings.” In these and so many other ways, 2 Corinthians—aptly called by a prominent commentator “the most extraordinary letter of the New Testament”[15]—is extremely relevant for Christian life today.

But theology, which St. Anselm aptly described as “faith seeking understanding,” was not an end in itself for Paul. As important as it is to know and understand what God has brought about through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, it is even more important that theology should lead to transformed lives. This is what we can learn from Paul. As much as anyone, he appreciated the role the Holy Spirit plays in the ongoing drama of salvation. In

Vattimo is very different from Heidegger, and he clearly understands the importance and the centrality of Christian belief in defining the destiny of Western culture and civilization, and in fact at the end he dwells on the notion of agape as the result of the anti-metaphysical revolution of Christianity.40 However, it seems to me that there is a problem in his religious perspective because he does not place enough emphasis on the Cross. As I recently wrote, he sees only interpretations in human history and no facts.41 He aligns himself with the post-Nietzschean tradition in claiming the nonviability of any historical ‘truth’ and confining the novelty of Christianity to a purely discursive level. For him Christianity is mainly a textual experience, which we only believe in because somebody whom we trust and love told us to do so.42 Although this is a concept which is quite close to the idea of ‘positive internal mediation’, as proposed by Fornari, there is no grounding, no point of departure in this long chain of good imitation; or at least it is a loose one: the book, that, according to a strict hermeneutical approach, can be subject to any possible interpretation. Paul says that the only things he knows are Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2.2), and this seems to me to be an indirect answer to Vattimo: one can deconstruct any form of mythical or ideological ‘truth’, but not the Cross, the actual death of the Son of God. That is the centre around which our culture rotates and from which it has evolved. Why should the world have changed if that event did not convey a radical and fundamental anthropological truth to the human being? God provided the text, but also the hermeneutical key with which to read it: the Cross. The two cannot be separated.

The church exists to help us put to death our unholy addiction to playing god, to die to our selves and rise to the exercise of true selfhood, “having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Corinthians 6:10). It exists to make possible for our stewardship of power the blessing Galadriel offers to Gimli in The Fellowship of the Ring, even as it echoes her stark refusal to make any absolute promise: “I do not foretell, for all foretelling is now vain: on the one hand lies darkness, and on the other only hope. But if hope should not fail, then I say to you, Gimli son of Glóin, that your hands shall flow with gold, and yet over you gold shall have no dominion.

The last enemy to brought to naught is death. -1 Corinthians 15:26

In the befogging pain of grief, we are able to see only part of the message, and as a result, death often seems like the ultimate insult. It appears to be the final indignity that makes a mockery of our faith. But when the fog of grief begins to clear even just a little—when at last we are able to perceive the whole truth—it becomes obvious that death is a defeated enemy, one that God uses for His eternal purposes until He ultimately destroys it: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. —2 Corinthians 4:16–18

I Am a Church Member I am a church member. I like the metaphor of membership. It’s not membership as in a civic organization or a country club. It’s the kind of membership given to us in 1 Corinthians 12: “Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). Because I am a member of the body of Christ, I must be a functioning member, whether I am an “eye,” an “ear,” or a “hand.” As a functioning member, I will give. I will serve. I will minister. I will evangelize. I will study. I will seek to be a blessing to others. I will remember that “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Cor. 12:26). I am a church member. I will seek to be a source of unity in the church. I know there are no perfect pastors, staff, or other church members. But neither am I. I will not be a source of gossip or dissension. One of the greatest contributions I can make is to do all I can in God’s power to help keep the church in unity for the sake of the gospel. I am a church member. I will not let my church be about my preferences and desires. That is self-serving. I am in this church to serve others and to serve Christ. My Savior went to a cross for me. I can deal with any inconveniences and matters that are just not my preference or style. I am a church member. I will pray for my pastor every day. His work is never-ending. His days are filled with constant demands for his time—with the need to prepare sermons, with those who are rejoicing in births, with those who are traveling through the valley of the shadow of death, with critics, with the hurts and hopes of others, and with the need to be a husband and a father. My pastor cannot serve our church in his own power. I will pray for God’s strength for him and his family every day. I am a church member. I will lead my family to be good members of this church as well. We will pray together for our church. We will worship together in our church. We will serve together in our church. And we will ask Christ to help us fall deeper in love with this church, because He gave His life for her. I am a church member. This membership is a gift. When I received the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, I became a part of the body of Christ. I soon thereafter identified with a local body and was baptized. And now I am humbled and honored to serve and to love others in our church. I pray that I will never take my membership for granted, but see it as a gift and an opportunity to serve others and to be a part of something so much greater than any one person or member. I am a church member. And I thank God that I am.

In 2 Corinthians 4:6-7, Paul wrote, “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” And that brings us full circle to where we started in this chapter: at the end of the day there is no human explanation for the growth of the church. The world thinks we’re odd and bizarre. We’re the losers. We’re the privy pots. And yet, through the mouths of Paul and other misfits across the centuries, the church inexplicably moves in the history of the world with immense power beyond anything else. The gospel alone turns sinners into saints by transplanting men and women from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son—from eternal death to everlasting life. That is power to create new beings fit for God’s presence and glory. If we brought a bus load of movie stars, corporate titans, or Ivy League professors into our church (assuming they’d condescend to get on a bus), they’d look at us and laugh: “These people can’t change the world!” No, we can’t. But for those who remain faithful to the whole truth of Christianity, God is changing the world through us. He’s been doing it through all history.

The last enemy to be brought to naught is death. -1 Corinthians 15:26

Death for the Christian is the doorway to heaven’s glory. Because of Christ’s resurrection we can joyously say with Paul, “Where, O death, is your victory?” [1 Corinthians 15:55 NIV].

How you think about Heaven affects everything in life—how you prioritize love, how willing you are to sacrifice for the long term, how you view suffering, what you fear or don’t fear. I’m convinced we can’t even begin—but we should try—to picture how magnificent, how spectacular, how much fun Heaven will be—how much of what we love about this life and more awaits us in eternity. As the Scripture says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT).

Death has been swallowed up in victory’” (1 Corinthians 15:51-54).

the New Testament contains no passages that clearly articulate a rule against homosexual practices. The Leviticus texts, of course, bluntly and explicitly prohibit male homosexual acts in a rule form. Paul, as we have seen, presupposes this prohibition—indeed, there may be an allusion in Romans 1:32 to Leviticus 20:13, with its prescription of the death penalty for a man who “lies with a male as with a woman”—but he neither repeats it explicitly nor issues any new rules on the subject. Consequently, if New Testament texts are to function normatively in the mode in which they speak, no direct appeal to Romans 1 as a source for rules about sexual conduct is possible. Similarly, 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 states no rule to govern the conduct of Christians; rather, it declares that they have already been transferred from an old life of sin to a new life of belonging to Jesus Christ. In other words, it presents a descriptive account of the new symbolic world within which discernments about Christian conduct are to be made (see further on this below).

Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13 (NLT)

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 1 Corinthians 15:55 

I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1 CORINTHIANS 2:2 I remember preaching in Dallas, Texas, early in our ministry. It was 1953. Many thousands attended each night, but one evening only a few people responded to the appeal to receive Jesus Christ. Discouraged, I left the platform. A German businessman was there, a devout man of God. He put his arm around me and said, “Billy, do you know what was wrong tonight? You didn’t preach the cross.” He was right. The next night I preached on Christ and His sacrificial death for us, and a great host of people received Christ as Savior. When we preach Christ crucified and risen, that message has a built-in spiritual power. The Holy Spirit takes the simple message of the cross, with its theme of redemptive love and grace, and infuses it with authority. This supernatural act of God’s Spirit breaks down barriers in people’s hearts. So whether you’re preaching with actions or words—in your home, neighborhood, or workplace—be sure that you’re preaching the Cross. The Spirit will be at work.

LET ME HELP YOU get through this day. There are many possible paths to travel between your getting up in the morning and your lying down at night. Stay alert to the many choice-points along the way, being continually aware of My Presence. You will get through this day one way or the other. One way is to moan and groan, stumbling along with shuffling feet. This will get you to the end of the day eventually, but there is a better way. You can choose to walk with Me along the path of Peace, leaning on Me as much as you need. There will still be difficulties along the way, but you can face them confidently in My strength. Thank Me for each problem you encounter, and watch to see how I transform trials into blessings. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. 1 CORINTHIANS 10 : 10 “ . . . to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” LUKE 1 : 79

The church has an eschatological horizon and is, as proleptic manifestation of God's reign, the beachhead of the new creation, the vanguard of God's new world, and the sign of the dawning new age in the midst of the old (cf Beker 1980:313; 1984:41). At the same time it is precisely as these small and weak Pauline communities gather in worship to celebrate the victory already won and to pray for the coming of their Lord (“Marana tha !”), that they become aware of the terrible contradiction between what they believe on the one hand and what they empirically see and experience on the other, and also of the tension in which they live, the tension between the “already” and the “not yet.” “Christ the first fruits” has already risen from the dead (1 Cor 15:23) and the believers have been given the Spirit as “guarantee” of what is to come (2 Cor 1:22; 5:5), but there does not seem to be much apart from these “first fruits” and “pledge.” Like Abraham, they believe in hope against hope (Rom 4:18) and accept in faith the Spirit's witness that they are children and heirs of God and therefore fellow heirs with Christ—provided, says Paul, “we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom 8:17). God will triumph, notwithstanding our weakness and suffering, but also in the midst of and because of and through our weakness and suffering (cf Beker 1980:364f). Faith is able to bear the tension between the confession of God's ultimate triumph, and the empirical reality of this world, for it knows that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom 8:37) and that “in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose” (8:28). Nowhere has Paul portrayed this unbearable (and precisely for this reason bearable!) tension more profoundly than in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. Our Christian life in this world thus involves an inescapable tension, oscillating between joy and agony. Whereas, on the one hand, suffering and weakness become all the more intolerable and our agonizing, because of the terrifying “not yet,” intensifies, we can, on the other hand, already “rejoice in our sufferings” (Rom 5:2). This means that our life in this world must be cruciform; Paul bears on his body “the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17; cf Col 1:24), he carries “in the body the death of Jesus,” and while he lives he is “always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor 4:10f) (cf also Beker 1980:145f, 366f; 1984:120).

August 19 Godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 I remember a time in my college years when I was deeply puzzled over ongoing feelings of guilt concerning a sin for which I had asked forgiveness many, many times. I never felt like I was out from under the weight and burden of it. Years later, God pried open my eyes to the verse above. Suddenly I realized that I had never developed a godly sorrow over that sin. I regretted it because I knew it wasn't God's will for my life, but I had no real sorrow over it. I had hung on to it emotionally even though I had let go of it physically. I had done the right things, but I still felt the wrong things.

The Bible considers a sinner the man who practices sin, that is to say, according to the rudiments and passions of this world. The Bible is referring to the one who willingly sins both, by ignoring the sacrifice of Christ not having ever listened about His name, or having knowledge of Him. None of the apostles who wrote the New Testament considered someone who lived in sin as “born again” nor “full of the Holy Spirit”. The Bible makes a substantial difference between the sinner and immature Christian. It is one to be carnal and a child in Christ and to ßsay, “I am of Paul”; and another, “I am Apollo’s” (1 Corinthians 3:1-7) and something very different is to be an adulterer, someone who robs, someone who deceives his fellow man, or someone who asks a fortune-teller, and calls himself a believer. One thing is the lack of a renewed mind in Christ and to feel offended when someone hurts us, and another is to commit fraud or be immersed in pornography through the internet. Although all sins soil our soul and our spirit, there are sins of death and sins of immaturity. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. 1 John 5:16-18

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you.” 2 Corinthians 4:7–12 When the

Every time someone dies, it reminds those watching that God’s work is not yet complete. Because of sin, death entered the world. Only when sin is completely defeated will death cease to be part of the equation. Paul says about Christ’s present ministry: “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:25–26). Christ died so that we would no longer have to die. He rose again so that death would be put to death. Every time someone dies, it reminds us that death still lives. But every death also points us to the promise that Christ brings a resurrection once and forever. Through Christ, death has been defeated. One day, life will no longer give way to death. Children will not mourn their parents. Parents will not mourn their children. There will be no widows or grieving friends. Yes, death is an enemy, but this enemy will die. Christ’s present reign guarantees this. One day, life will give way to life in eternity. As you weep, know this: the One who weeps with you is not content for things to stay as they are. His death was a cry and his resurrection a promise. The living Christ will continue to exert his power and you will grieve no more. Paul David Tripp

February 5 On the Thin Ice When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous have a refuge.—Proverbs 14:32 My husband had an harrowing experience a few weeks ago. As he was driving over a low overpass, a patch of “black ice” caught him by surprise. His truck spun around and headed for the concrete guardrail. All he could do was wait for the impact. As he told me about the incident, I thought about how often it seems that situations in our lives are just as far out of our control as a truck sliding around on ice. One moment things seem to be going smoothly; then all of a sudden there is a death, a diagnosis, a crisis, or something else that knocks the wind out of us. There is very rarely anything we can do to prevent these sorts of catastrophes; they seem to fall out of the sky. However, mental and spiritual preparation can keep us from being crushed. Remembering that nothing is impossible with God, and meditating on his faithfulness to me in the past, reminds me that there is good reason to trust him with the future (Luke 1:37; Psalm. 89:8). With this in mind, our first reaction to calamity can be to turn toward God, knowing that He will give us His peace (Philippians 4:6-7). We can calmly steer into the skid that life has thrown us, knowing that He is always there (Joshua 1:9). We may be bowed low by trouble and heartache but, by the grace of God, we will not be defeated (2 Corinthians 4:8)! By the way, I am thrilled to say that my husband arrived home without a scratch on him or his truck, thanks to the mighty hand of God that delivered him! Truly, nothing is too hard for the Lord (Jeremiah 32:27). Thank You, Lord, that You are my refuge in times of trouble (Psalm. 9:9). What a comfort to know that Your strong arms are there when the very ground I’m standing on seems to crumble beneath my feet!

February 9 Comforting Others Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.—2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Do you have acquaintances who need comforting? Sometimes we don’t attempt to comfort others who are suffering because we don’t know what to do or what to say. How do we comfort others? Recently I read a story about Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven wrote some of the world’s greatest music even after he became too deaf to carry on a conversation. He was also noted as a concert pianist. Beethoven was not known for social grace. Because of his deafness, he found conversation difficult and humiliating. When he heard of the death of a friend’s son, Beethoven hurried to his friend’s house, overcome with grief. Beethoven had no words of comfort to offer, but he saw a piano in the room. For the next half hour, he played the piano. He poured out his emotions in the most eloquent way he could. When he finished playing, he left. The friend later remarked that no one else’s visit had meant so much. Words are not always necessary. There is nothing more comforting than a hug or just your presence. When you don’t know what to say, just put your arms around your friends and say, “I love you, and I am praying for you.” After our daughter’s death a few years ago, my husband and I realized that we had not heard from some of our long-time friends. Finally, they contacted us and said, “We have not called you or come to see you because we just didn’t know what to say.” Our reply was, “You could have just given us a hug.” If you are at a loss for words when comfort needs to be given, go to your friends anyway. Give them the gift of your presence.

MORE FROM GOD’S WORD And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV You, therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:1 HCSB The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. Exodus 15:2 HCSB He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. Isaiah 40:29 HCSB But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 NKJV I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4 NKJV Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. Psalm 23:4 NLT SHADES OF GRACE God’s grace is just the right amount of just the right quality arriving as if from nowhere at just the right time. Bill Bright A PRAYER FOR TODAY Dear Lord, I will turn to You for strength. When my responsibilities seem overwhelming, I will trust You to give me courage and perspective. Today and every day, I will look to You as the ultimate source of my hope, my strength, my peace, and my salvation. Amen

January 29 MORNING “The things which are not seen.” — 2 Corinthians 4:18 IN our Christian pilgrimage it is well, for the most part, to be looking forward. Forward lies the crown, and onward is the goal. Whether it be for hope, for joy, for consolation, or for the inspiring of our love, the future must, after all, be the grand object of the eye of faith. Looking into the future we see sin cast out, the body of sin and death destroyed, the soul made perfect, and fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. Looking further yet, the believer’s enlightened eye can see death’s river passed, the gloomy stream forded, and the hills of light attained on which standeth the celestial city; he seeth himself enter within the pearly gates, hailed as more than conqueror, crowned by the hand of Christ, embraced in the arms of Jesus, glorified with Him, and made to sit together with Him on His throne, even as He has overcome and has sat down with the Father on His throne. The thought of this future may well relieve the darkness of the past and the gloom of the present. The joys of heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth. Hush, my fears! this world is but a narrow span, and thou shalt soon have passed it. Hush, hush, my doubts! death is but a narrow stream, and thou shalt soon have forded it. Time, how short — eternity, how long! Death, how brief — immortality, how endless! Methinks I even now eat of Eshcol’s clusters, and sip of the well which is within the gate. The road is so, so short! I shall soon be there. When the world my heart is rending     With its heaviest storm of care, My glad thoughts to heaven ascending,     Find a refuge from despair. Faith’s bright vision shall sustain me     Till life’s pilgrimage is past; Fears may vex and troubles pain me,     I shall reach my home at last.

We didn’t deserve to be loved to the death; it’s pure grace, the amazing and undeserved blessings of privilege and power purchased for us by Christ’s obedient life and death. The Spirit’s witness about the infinitely costly work paid for us by an infinitely valuable Person causes our hearts to see Christ in such a way that gratitude transforms us at the very core of our being. Paul explained it like this: For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (2 Corinthians 5:14–15)

After David had confessed to Nathan that he had " sinned against the Lord," 6 the prophet consoled him by saying: " The Lord hath taken away thy sin, thou shalt not die." 7 But Nathan did not promise David remission of temporal punishment. On the contrary, he continued: " Nevertheless, because thou hast given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, ... the child that is born to thee shall surely die." 8 St. Paul mentions weakness, disease, and death among the evil effects of unworthy communion. " Therefore many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few are fallen asleep." 9 He evidently regards sickness and death as temporal punishments for irreverence shown to the Holy Eucharist; for among the afflicted Corinthians many returned to their senses in consequence of such chastise ments. 10 b) The teaching of Tradition on this subject may be gathered partly from the writings of the Fathers and partly from the penitential discipline of the ancient Church. a) Calvin admits that practically all the Fathers held the Catholic doctrine of satisfaction. 11 In view of this admission a few select texts will suffice for our purpose. St. Basil says: " If thy sin is great and grievous, thou

Christ plunged through death and out the other side into the dawning new creation, and to be “in” him means that he has pulled you with him. To render 2 Corinthians 5:17 woodenly, “If anyone is in Christ—new creation.” In the Greek text there is no verb. What Paul is saying is that if you are in Christ, you have been swept up into Eden 2.0, the new creation that silently erupted when Christ walked out of that tomb.

It is only through the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that man will be made new (2 Corinthians 5:!7) and exercise wise dominion for the glory of God.

—2 Corinthians 5:18— Paul says he’s been given the ministry of reconciling man to God. Didn’t Jesus do that in his ministry? Back in chapter 3—here —Paul says that God has qualified him to be the dispenser of his new covenant, but he doesn’t have a word to say about Jesus dispensing that covenant. And then he goes on to talk about the splendor of God’s work in sending the Spirit to inspire missionaries like himself. But where is the splendor of Jesus’ life and ministry? Wasn’t his work at least as important as Paul’s? Does Paul think God placed greater importance on his work than on Jesus’ work? “I thought Paul was always talking about how humble he was.” I pointed to my next passage: 2 Corinthians 6:2. “Well, how’s this for humility? Paul quotes Isaiah: ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, in the day of salvation I helped you.’ This is supposed to be God promising salvation. But when does this promise come to fulfillment? Was it in Jesus’ life and death? No. Paul points to his own ministry and says, ‘I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.’!

Paul’s version of the words of institution are more than Mark’s and Matthew’s, which lack that is for you, and less than Luke’s (in 22:19), which has “given for you.” This cup is the new covenant in my blood echoes “This is the blood of the covenant” in Exod 24:8. The parallelism with the sacrifice’s sealing the old covenant demands taking “that is for you” as an affirmation of the sacrificial nature of this body, which brings salvation. The separate consecration of the bread and the wine signifies the separation of the blood from the body of Christ in death (though in reality the whole Christ is present under both species: bread and wine).

The Eucharist is not merely the presence of the body and blood of the Lord; it is also the solemn representation of his death.

set aside for God. They must therefore become what they are. Eliminating the corrupting influence is the only way to maintain the integrity of their consecration. The reason they are unleavened is that the true paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. At Passover the lambs were sacrificed, and Paul here represents the earliest New Testament claim that in his death and resurrection, Christ is the fulfillment of the Jewish Passover.

context, most especially by his death on the cross, outshone the most brilliant human wisdom.

The gospel is first of all a witness to the death and resurrection of the Son of God. It is the report of an event that also calls for a decision. It is not mere ideas or †sophistry or philosophy. Second, Paul’s preaching of the gospel was accompanied by signs, miracles, and especially healings (Gal 3:1–5). Third and most important, the event of the cross led to changed lives: the power of the cross was not merely the past event of Calvary but also a present event, producing changes in the lives of the Corinthians.

is by both word and action that the Eucharist proclaims the death of the Lord until he comes. In this short phrase, sung or recited in the Roman Catholic Mass immediately after the consecration, Paul sums up three great mysteries: the death of Christ, which is past; the presence of the risen Christ (“Lord” here refers to the risen Lord, as in Rom 10:9); and the future coming of Christ.

In either case, the idea is that Paul envisages the most heroic self-gift done for a motive other than love. T. S. Eliot, in his imaginative interpretation of the temptations of St. Thomas Becket in Murder in the Cathedral, presents the final tempter as offering Thomas the crown of martyrdom so that he may enjoy a human glory, a triumph of his own pride. To which Thomas answers, “The last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason.” A true martyr goes to his death because there is no other way to be faithful to God, not because it will be the ultimate triumph of his human pride. The ego can feed on anything—even martyrdom. Only love makes it real.

The Jewish Passover in remembrance of the day you came forth from Egypt (see Deut 16:1–3) has now become the Christian Passover in remembrance of me, the Lord Jesus Christ. The same idea of representation of the mystery carries over into the celebration of the Eucharist, and the Church sees in the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine (called the epiklēsis) the divine power enabling the elements to be transformed into the body and blood of Christ, thus making really present the mystery of the Christian exodus, the death and resurrection of Christ.[91]

the Scripture says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT). But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t push our imaginations