Category: devotional

1 Corinthians 15:47-49

 

47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

 

            I find that the passage above, along with the similar use of this language in Romans 5, is something we do not often think about in our context. Are you in Adam? Are you in Christ? How are the two different? We just don’t often think in these terms.

 

            As Paul responded to the questions that the Corinthians had about how human bodies would be resurrected to live eternally, he drew to mind a massive comparison and contrast. Paul basically told the people that there are two kinds of people in the world: those in Adam and those in Christ.

 

            The people who are in Adam are represented by the first man. Adam sinned against God. Adam fell. Adam died because of his own sin. In all this, Adam is not a picture of rescued and redeemed humanity. Adam is, instead, a picture of fallen, rebellious, and lost humanity that is headed for judgment. [I’m not, by the way, arguing that Adam did not personally receive grace, but simply that he is the representative of lostness in Scripture.]

 

            Christ, the second man, is the alternative to Adam. Christ lived perfectly. Christ died, but only to rescue others, not for his own sin because he had no sin. Christ rose from the grave to live again. When Christ rose, his body was changed, glorified, and made able to live in the presence of God eternally. Jesus is God who became man to do what man on his own could never do.

 

            If you are in Adam, you will not live in God’s presence eternally. If you are in Adam, you will die and then suffer the full wrath of God for your sin against him. If you are in Adam, you will face infinite punishment for offending an infinitely holy God by your own imperfection. If you are in Adam, when you die you die.

 

            If you are in Christ ,represented by Jesus, you are covered by Jesus’ sacrifice and Jesus’ righteousness. If you are in Christ, you will, after you die, be allowed into the presence of God. If you are in Christ, you will be raised from the dead, given a glorified body, and be allowed to live forever in God’s presence with perfect joy and perfect peace for a perfect eternity. If you are in Christ your sin, which would have condemned you, is totally covered by grace. If you are in Christ, you need not fear death, because death for the one represented by Jesus is a step toward perfection, not an end at all.

 

            The amazing thing about the gospel is that we cannot do anything to earn the representation of Christ. To be in Christ, we simply believe in him, place our trust in him, and then begin to live for him. To be in Christ, we stop thinking that we are the center of the universe and realize that Jesus is. Of course, all this faith and turning on our part is preceded by the sovereign grace of God who is the Author of salvation and the one who receives all glory for every part of our salvation.

 

            Today, perhaps it would be worthwhile to think in the strange contrast that Paul paints. Are you in Adam? Are you in Christ? If you are in Adam, what do you think about that? If you are in Christ, how does that give you joy and change your life?

1 Corinthians15:17b-19

 

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

 

            What would make our faith worthless? Today, Hollywood tells us that the important thing is to have faith, regardless of the object of such belief. Many Christians reject that empty kind of thinking out-of-hand, but, do we really distance ourselves far enough from it?

 

            In the passage above, Paul makes a very clear statement that is worth our attention. If Christ is not alive, not raised from the dead, our faith is totally useless. That’s it. There are no ifs, ands, or buts. If Jesus is not alive, the game is over. We should, in fact, be pitied more than anyone else, if we are foolish enough to believe in a God-man who has been raised from the dead if indeed this is not true.

 

            Now, here is the question: Christians, would you consider your faith to be totally worthless if Jesus is not alive? This actually gets to the heart of your faith. Would your faith fall apart were the whole Jesus thing not true?

 

            Think about what we do with our faith. We sing praises. We feel good about doing so. We gather together in familial groups. We support each other. We socialize. We do good things in the world. Yet, if Jesus is not alive, these things are all worthless—all of them.

 

            This tells us something important about our faith. The only way that our faith matters is if Jesus, the real man who lived on this earth 2,000 years ago, is physically alive right now. The only way that our faith has any value is if Jesus lived a perfect life, died as a sacrificial substitute who paid the penalty for the sins of God’s children, and then physically came back to life. Everything in Christianity, absolutely everything, hinges on the question of whether or not Jesus paid for our sins and then got up out of the grave to live forever.

 

            So is your faith worthwhile or worthless? Let me take the question deeper. Assuming Jesus is alive, does this change your answer? Would your faith, the faith you live out, be worthless if Jesus were dead? If your faith would not be worthless to you were Jesus dead, your faith is not biblical Christianity, or at least not consistent, biblical Christianity.

 

            So, Christians, for us, this passage calls us to remember the centrality of the resurrection. Our faith is an objective faith—a faith with an object. Our faith is that we have hope for eternity because, and only because, Jesus was sacrificed in our place for our sin and then rose from the dead. Without that object, nothing in our faith matters, not singing, not praying, not adopting, not giving, not caring, not fellowship, not discipleship, not anything. If Jesus is dead, nothing matters.

 

            But, because Jesus is alive, we have hope. Because Jesus lives, we have meaning. Because Jesus is alive we worship, we praise, we give, we love, we adopt, we study, we evangelize, we go on mission, we love our neighbors. Because Jesus lives we have a reason to live. May we remember that our faith has life only because of the fact that Jesus lives.

Jonah 2:8-9

 

8 Those who pay regard to vain idols

forsake their hope of steadfast love.

9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving

will sacrifice to you;

what I have vowed I will pay.

Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

 

     The prayer above is from Jonah. This is no major surprise. Jonah ran from God and was caught by God. Jonah was brought to a place where he realized that God was in control and that no idols have any power at all.

 

     What is surprising, however, is the state of Jonah when he prayed the wonderful words recorded above. Jonah was in the belly of a fish in the sea. Jonah should have been dead. He had forsaken God. He had refused the command of the Lord. He had run, hoping to avoid any responsibility to obey God. He had run, hoping that God would judge the Assyrians.

 

     Jonah, in the heart of the sea, in the stomach of a fish, realized that any attempt to pay homage to anything that is not God is futile. Jonah understood that trying to do things his way did not work. Jonah understood that nothing and no one could stand in God’s place.

 

     Then Jonah prayed something odder still. He declared his expectation to keep his vows. He expected to offer to God things that he had promised God. He expected to worship God with a heart of thanksgiving. How? How could a man in the tummy of a sea creature think that he was going to get the chance to honor God through obedience?

 

     The last line tells us. Jonah knew that salvation is from God. Jonah could have simply drown. God did not choose to let that happen. God was not going to let Jonah escape his duty simply by dying in the sea. No, God had a plan for Jonah. God was not going to lose—he never does. God chose to save Jonah by having a fish swallow him.

 

     And once Jonah understood that idols are worthless, that God is worthy, and that the Lord is the source of all salvation, the fish swam to shore, vomited Jonah out, and swam away. The prophet, for his part, had a job to do. He was going to obey God and offer right praise to the Lord over all the earth.

 

     Of course Jonah misses much in the remainder of the book. But his prayer in chapter 2 is right on. If we pay heed, if we give homage, if we serve anything other than God, we act as fools. We must not treasure that which is not God—at least not in the same way or to the same degree that we treasure God. Anything that is not God must be infinitely lower in our estimation than our Creator. He is worthy of our worship. He is worthy of our obedience. And one reason why God is so worthy is that he is the sovereign source of our salvation just as he was the sovereign source of Jonah’s salvation at sea.

 

2 Kings 5:20 (ESV)

Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”

 

            Don’t we wrestle with grace? Don’t we especially wrestle with God’s grace on others? Don’t we especially, strongly struggle with God’s grace shown to others when they do not end up doing what we do or thinking what we think?

 

            Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, could not stomach what God did for Naaman the Syrian. To Gehazi, Syrians were bad guys. Naaman was a high-ranking bad guy. And when Naaman came to Elisha to seek help from God, Elisha just healed him. Yes, there was a bit about Naaman humbling himself and receiving the gracious gift of God by allowing himself to be bathed in the Jordan river, but to Gehazi, this simply did not cost Naaman enough.

 

            Look at what Gehazi said above. Gehazi determined that Naaman did not pay enough for the grace he received. To Gehazi, the right thing to do was to run after Naaman and “get something from him.” Gehazi just could not let grace be grace.

 

            Do we do what Gehazi did? When we see someone converted to faith, can we let them grow in Christ? Is it enough for us that they receive mercy, that they begin to love Christ, and that they begin to obey his commands? Do we feel that we need to get something from others, perhaps even things God did not require?

 

            What is your pet project as a believer? What area are you strongly convicted toward? Is it a particular doctrine that every believer needs to come to or else—Calvinism, anything but Calvinism, continuationism, cessationism, complimentarianism, plurality of elders, congregationalism? Is it a particular ministry—orphan care, urban care, international disaster relief, stopping trafficking? Is it a particular ministry practice—church planting, church revitalization, contemporary music, classic hymns, home-schooling, public-schooling for the sake of evangelism, moms staying home with the kids, moms working outside the home?

 

            I personally believe that there is a right and perhaps even a wrong in each category that I listed above. However, not everything listed above is a doctrinal certainty. Some of the things above are things about which well-meaning, solid-thinking, Bible-believing Christians will disagree. And, when we disagree, it is possible that somebody is wrong. But, and this is the important question, what do we need to do with them? Do we need to run after them to get proper thinking out of them? Do we need to chase them down to force them to not only obey Jesus’ commands, but to also obey those commands in exactly the same way that we obey them ourselves?

 

            Don’t get me wrong; I’m not going all post-modern and anti-theological. I have opinions about what is right, and they are strong ones. But I am also learning at this point in my life as a believer that not everybody is going to be passionate about the same things I am passionate about. It is actually OK for me to love someone while disagreeing with them about certain doctrines. It is even OK for me to learn from somebody with whom I disagree. And I believe that this all has something to do with allowing others to have on their lives the same grace of God that I have on mine.

 

            So, think well before you decide to chase down another believer. Think well about whether or not you are trying, like Gehazi, to “get something from them,” because, perhaps, you have not seen them do enough to join the club. Oh yes, work to make disciples. Yes, help younger believers to embrace right doctrine. Yes, help people to take part in right spiritual practices. But, be careful that you are not, in the process, calling them to do more than obey Jesus, but instead to obey Jesus in your way that matches your particular personality and shape.

            In 2 Kings 4, we find an interesting story of Elisha and a Shunammite woman. This woman, who had been a faithful helper to the prophet of God, was without a son—a major problem in those days. Elisha wanted to bless her for her kindness to him. So, as Elisha went to the Lord on her behalf, he was able to tell the Shunammite that she would have a son, and so she did.

 

            The story gets weird when, later in the same chapter and a few years later in life, the son dies. It’s weird. This little blessing from God just gets a pain in his head and dies. The Shunammite goes to Elisha and tells him that she did not ask for a son. She did not want him to get her hopes up. Then she received a blessing only to lose it.

 

            The story ends with Elisha going to the dead boy, seeking God, and raising the child from the dead. In the end the story is sweet and everyone lives happily ever after.

 

            Here is the question that hit me this morning as I read through the story: Why? Why did we get this story in the text? What in the world are we supposed to think?

 

            Let’s cover some simple ground first The crazy story sets up the magnificent miracle of resurrection. This is in a section of 2 Kings in which we are seeing that Elisha has the power of God on him just as Elijah before him. So, the event happened to show that the power of God was still in his chosen prophet.

 

            We can also see a picture of Christ in this story in two ways. First, anytime we see someone coming back from the dead, we had better think of Jesus. Jesus died and then came back to life. The fact that Jesus came back to life after death is our only hope that we will live after our death. So the story certainly gives us hope that God is more powerful than death.

 

            The story also reminds us of Jesus in the rescuing role that Elisha played. Jesus rescues us from being dead in our sin and transgressions. Jesus is the one who brings us to life, even though we have nothing that we could do to earn it or to make it happen.

 

            But what else might we take from this passage for daily living? What hits me today is the truth that our lives, even the lives of the faithful, will have pain. The Shunammite suffered the sorrow of childlessness and then the horror of the loss of her only son. She received a blessing that she did not ask for only to lose it and then have it returned.

 

            For me, I look at this story and am reminded that God works in our lives, even in our pain, to show us his power, his comfort, and his gospel. Like the Shunammite, any of us may suffer loss. When we do, we need to recall the fact that God is the God who raises the dead. He is the God who comforts the hurting. He is the God who has power beyond our imagining. But, we do not have to experience that power through the return of whatever we feel we have lost. God shows us these miracles to remind us that, in eternity, we get to be in the presence of the One who empowers the miracles. We get to be in the presence of the One who raises the dead. We get to have our souls satisfied by the One who is the source of joy and the Giver of all good things. This strange passage reminds us that God is better than the gifts that he gives us and that our hope is in the God who gives, who takes, but who is ultimately our only great treasure.  

2 Corinthians 8:1-4 (ESV)

1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—

 

            As Paul tells the Corinthians about the giving spirit of the Macedonian churches, there are some words that strike me. Take note of just a few things that are said.

 

            IN verse 1, Paul calls the gifts of the Macedonian churches the “grace of God.” How can this be? Clearly, when the people of God are used by God to bless other people of God, it is an evidence of God’s grace. I want to be a part of spreading God’s grace.

 

            In verse 2, there are two things that combined to overflow in generosity from the Macedonians: their joy and their poverty. How can this be? Somehow, the joy of God was such that the Macedonians relished giving. .They relished the giving even more as it came from poverty and not from affluence or extra. Somehow the Macedonians gave out of joy and poverty. These two were not at odds. I want joy like that.

 

            In verse 3, the Macedonians gave beyond their means. How can that be? These people gave well past what they could afford. There is no condemnation from Paul over their actions. Paul just rejoiced that these people gave with such freedom and joy. I want to have a giving heart like that.

 

            In verse 4, the Macedonians also begged for the opportunity to give. Apparently somebody had to stop them from giving away all that they had. How can this be? Something about the change that God made in the lives of the Macedonians made them feel keenly the desire to bless God’s people who were in hardship, even though the Macedonians were themselves not at all wealthy. I want to have that kind of heart for the people of God.

 

            Christians, we are far too quick to find ways to excuse our lack of generosity. We have far too many ways in which we stop giving before the joy of God actually motivates us further. No, this is not only about dollar bills in the offering plate; instead it is about the heart of the Christian. What might we give of ourselves, our time, our resources—even out of our poverty—for the sake of the people of God, the kingdom of God, the glory of God, the joy of knowing God?

2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV)

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

 

            I have heard on numerous occasions that a Christian ought never question his or her salvation. I have heard speakers and evangelists counsel people to mark down the date of their praying a prayer, and to never allow anyone to cause them to further question whether or not they would go to heaven if they were to die. However, this counsel is not the counsel of Scripture.

 

            As Paul wraps up the letter of 2 Corinthians, he warns the church that he is coming to them for a third visit. He knows that there are people in Corinth who are living sinfully and opposing the gospel that Paul first preached in Corinth. Some of these people are trying to say that it does not matter what Paul says, since other teachers are more flashy. Obviously these guys are better teachers than Paul, because they charge enormous speaker’s fees.

 

            Paul tells the people to think hard about themselves to see whether they are really in the faith. Paul challenges them to due diligence in looking at their own lives. Is Christ there? Are they truly forgiven? Or have they merely given in to a religious moment.

 

            I would encourage any Christian to be sure of his or her salvation. I believe that assurance of salvation is important. However, assurance is not something that we take for granted and then never examine ourselves again. We should be able to look at our lives and see that there is a difference in who we are now and who we used to be. We should see in our lives that we have a continuing trust in Jesus. If all we have is a memory of a prayer prayed years ago, we ought not stand with great confidence. We should instead look to our hearts right now. Is Jesus Christ our only hope for our souls for all eternity? Are we seeking to honor him in our lives? Of course we will not be perfect, but we must be different.

2 Corinthians 4:2 (ESV)

But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

 

            This morning, I took time to read through the early chapters of 2 Corinthians, and to take notes on the flow of Paul’s argument. As we read this book, we see that there has been a rift between Paul and the Corinthians, and that has something to do with the expectations of the Corinthian church. It seems that the Corinthians wanted Paul to look and act like the well-respected communicators of their day. They wanted Paul to be like the celebrities who passed through cities and used clever rhetorical devices to inspire and move their audiences.

 

            Paul, instead of being commended with all the fame and adulation of one of the celebrity speakers, suffered and went through hardships. Paul did not have a big following touting his praise. Instead, Paul was a guy who kept getting run out of towns, who kept getting arrested, who kept being beaten, and who basically looked, in comparison to the celebrities, like a nobody.

 

            Paul was perhaps one of the most intelligent men ever to have lived. He most certainly could have matched wits with any celebrity orator of his day. But he refused to play that game. Why? Why would Paul not take advantage of the opportunity to make his name greater and to expand the influence of his ministry?

 

            Above, we see Paul’s simple answer to the question. Paul writes, “
But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” Paul renounces what he calls disgraceful and underhanded ways. Paul is not going to do anything to appear to be something he is not. Instead, Paul ties himself completely to the Scripture. He will not mess with Scripture. He will not tamper with the word of God. Instead, Paul is going to hold high the word of God, to refuse to play the game of the celebrity communicator, and to let God commend his message to the hearts of the people.

 

            Please note, this is not a man who did not contextualize. Paul said in 1 Corinthians that he was very willing to become all things to all men in order to see some saved (1 Cor 9:22). Paul was willing to put on and take off cultural practices in order to get the message of the gospel to the people. However, Paul was not willing to manipulate the people by playing the celebrity, nor was he willing to manipulate the message to make it more of what the modern man wanted to hear. When it came to the gospel, Paul preached only the one, true gospel that is clearly present in all Scripture.

 

            Is there a lesson here for us? I hope so. Let us be a people who hold fast to the word of God no matter what. Let us not feel the pull to make ourselves into the slick celebrity culture’s mold. Let us hold high the word of God. Yes, let us communicate in ways that the lost can hear and understand. But we must never change the message. We must never tinker with the Scripture. We must let the word of God say what it says, and we must trust God to do the work of heart change for his glory.

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (ESV)

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

 

            At the end of one paragraph and the beginning of the next, Paul sets in contrast two wonderful truths. Paul shows the Corinthians that he and those with him who preach the gospel have a great treasure. Then, as he opens the next paragraph, Paul makes sure that his readers understand that, though the treasure is great, Paul and his companions are weak vessels, not grand and worthy of such a treasure in themselves.

 

            For the past few chapters, Paul has been talking about the gospel of Christ. He drew a comparison between the gospel and the Old Testament law. Paul wanted to show that the message of Jesus far surpasses the law, even though the law in itself was a glorious thing.

 

            As Paul discusses the treasure that he has in the gospel, he refers to it as “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” As many have pointed out, this is a lofty statement from Paul, bringing into the discussion the values of the cultures that came together in Corinth. The Jews followed God, who led them with light in the sky. The Greeks treasured knowledge. The Romans in their empire treasured glory. Paul shows that, in the gospel, the message of God’s plan of redemption, we see light and knowledge and glory, the treasures of all people, all bound up in one central treasure, the person and work of Jesus Christ.

 

            If having the gospel is a treasure beyond the measure of any culture to claim, then who are we to claim to have it? Are we not full of ourselves to say that we know the one message, the one truth, that others have failed to see? Paul answers this criticism before it can even be raised.

 

            Paul argues that, if the treasure is great, the vessels containing it are weak. Paul refers to himself and his fellow ministers of the gospel as “jars of clay.” Paul wants the Corinthians to know that he does not assume, even for a moment, that he is the one who is special. He is but a weak, clay pot. The treasure is what is valuable. HE has no strength in himself. All his message, all his spiritual success, all his goodness comes from the gospel, not from himself.

 

            What Paul has written there is true of us too. WE have the message that is a treasure beyond measure. But we do not have it because we are special. We are not entrusted with the gospel to share because we are special. No, we are weak. We mess things up easily and regularly. But God’s message is still powerful. God’s Gospel is still glorious. We want the world to see that it is God’s strength not ours, that saves souls and changes the world. So let us be the people of God who highlight the treasure and downplay the weak vessels in which God has chosen to place it.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (ESV)

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

 

            Have you ever noticed that people do not always agree on what smells good? I have in my mind a particular Japanese dish that my wife really likes. It is called natto, and it is a sort of smelly, slimy, fermented soybean paste (if you can’t tell, I’m not a fan). Here’s how to make it yourself! While I find this dish completely inedible, my wife, who is typically the most smell-sensitive person I know, loves it.

 

            Do you find it strange that I now have a gospel comparison to make? No, I do not think of Jesus as similar to Japanese beans; however, there is something to learn. Paul points out in the verses above that Christians who share the gospel are like a fragrance. To some, that fragrance is the sweet smell of life. To others, that fragrance is the reminder of death.

 

            In eternity, every person will be judged by God. Some will receive his mercy and grace because they have been found under the protection of Jesus. Others will find themselves under the judgment of God because they have not received Jesus’ forgiveness. To each, a reminder of who Jesus is will be a very different thing. To a forgiven person, the message of Jesus is life itself. To a lost person, the message of Jesus is foolish, repulsive, and altogether nonsensical—that is, until God opens their hearts to see its beauty.

 

            Learn from this as you share your faith. If a person is not being drawn to Jesus, your gospel presentation will not smell good to them. Don’t let that bother you. Don’t let yourself try to perfume the gospel with any scents that are beyond what it truly is. Just tell the truth in a kind, honest, open way. If they reject the clear gospel, they are not rejecting you.

 

            However, if a person is being drawn to Christ, the gospel will smell sweet, enticing, alluring. The very same gospel, the same honest and clear gospel, becomes the scent of life to someone who recognizes their sin and sees for the first time the offer of grace in Christ. Like before, you need not perfume the gospel by adding to it or hiding parts of it. Just tell the truth and watch God make it sweet to those he is saving.

 

            It would take a radical conversion of my taste buds and my olfactory nerves to make me ever desire natto. However, radical conversions do happen. It takes a radical conversion of a person’s soul to make the gospel of Jesus Christ smell sweet to their spirit, but God does those kinds of conversions. Let us be faithful just to tell the truth and watch God do what we know is impossible. AS we do so, he will get the glory and we will be, as Paul says, to some the smell of life to life and for others the smell of death to death. However, as we tell the truth of Christ, we will always be a sweet aroma to the God who sent us out to take his message to a lost world, and that is where our joy is found.