Posts

(5) The Meaning of Salvation Through the Death and Resurrection of the Cross

  (5) The Meaning of Salvation Through the Death and Resurrection of the Cross God has presented the path of salvation to those who repent. That path is the death and resurrection of the cross. God does not forgive the sins of those who wish to become like Him. The sin of sons rebelling against the Father is precisely this kind of sin. However, the way God forgives sin is by taking on the form of sin Himself and dying miserably to it like a sacrificial lamb. It means to believe that sinners, too, have died in this way. This is the union of faith. In Romans 6:3-7, God acknowledges that those who possess faith united with the death of Jesus on the cross have also died to sin on the cross, and that those united with the resurrected Christ are also resurrected. Therefore, the Bible (Ephesians 2:5-6) reveals that they are those who have spiritually returned to the Kingdom of God. It means that although the physical body is in the world, one is spiritually in the Kingdom of God. Th...
Post a Comment
Read more

but also by the comfort he received from you

  ...but also by the comfort he received from you...   2 Corinthians 7:7: "It was not only by his coming (*parousia*) but also by the comfort (*paraklesis*: exhortation) he received from you that he comforted us; he further gladdened us by reporting (*anangellon*) your longing (*epipothesis*), your mourning (*odyrmon*), and your zeal (*zelon*) for me." "He" refers to Titus. It means that not only was Titus present, but the exhortation received through him concerned the Corinthians. The Lord, through Titus, spoke of — or proclaimed — the spiritual state of the believers in the Corinthian church. *Anangellon* ( ἀ ναγγ έ λλων ) refers to a proclamation from above. The content of this proclamation involved their *epipothesis* (yearning) and *odyrmon* (mourning). *Zelon* refers to zeal. *Anangellon* carries the meaning of showing or speaking. Although Paul had rebuked them in his first letter to the Corinthians — causing them sorrow — he learned through Titus tha...
Post a Comment
Read more

Let Us Cleanse Ourselves from Every Defilement of Flesh and Spirit

  Let Us Cleanse Ourselves from Every Defilement of Flesh and Spirit   2 Corinthians 7:1 – 2: "Therefore, beloved (*agapetoi*), having these promises, let us perfect holiness in the fear of God and cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit (*molysmos sarkos kai pneumatos*). Make room for us in your hearts (*ch ō r ē sate*); we have wronged no one (*ephtheiramen*), harmed no one, and exploited no one (*epleonekt ē samen*)." *Agapetoi* refers to those loved by the Lord — meaning us, including Paul and the saints of the Corinthian church. *Molysmos sarkos kai pneumatos* refers to that which defiles both the flesh and the spirit. Here, *sarkos* does not mean the physical body (*s ō ma*), but rather the "body of sin" (flesh). The "defilement of flesh and spirit" relates to the state where the spirit is dead due to the body of sin; the remedy is believing that the body of sin has died through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Roma...
Post a Comment
Read more

Open Your Hearts Wide

  Open Your Hearts Wide   2 Corinthians 6:11 – 13: "O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, and our hearts have been opened wide. You are not restricted in us, but you are restricted in your own affections (*splanchnois*). I speak as to children (*teknois*); open wide (*platynthete*) your hearts also in return (*auten antimisthian*)." The statement that our mouths have been opened means there is a word God delivers through our mouths. The fact that our hearts have been widened means God is enabling your hearts to be widened through us. *Splanchnois* ( σπλ ά γχνοι ς ) refers to the bowels or inner parts. In the context of being "restricted in your bowels," it refers to the "belly" from which living water flows — signifying the place where *ho Logos* (the Word) dwells within the believer's spirit. The term implies the womb where a fetus resides; just as a fetus receives life-sustaining nourishment, the believer receives the water of life fro...
Post a Comment
Read more

As Servants of God in Everything

  As Servants of God in Everything   2 Corinthians 6:4 – 10: "Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything." Paul describes what it means to be a servant of God. He speaks of both his own self-assessment and how others viewed him in his role as a servant. Regarding himself, he acts with the mindset of "dying daily"; regarding other...
Post a Comment
Read more