resurrection

The Primacy of Predestination

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him. – Ephesians 1:5-10 ESV

These verses contain one of the most difficult and hotly debated doctrines found in the Bible. Even before the Reformation in 1516, discussions concerning predestination had typically been heated and divided. There was little consensus on the topic because there remained a seemingly unbridgeable chasm between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. It was Augustine of Hippo who posited the idea that the doctrine of election taught that “all saved must be predestined to salvation … before they have committed any deed of any sort” (Diarmaid MacCullough, The Reformation: A History).

Men who were on the same side of the Reformation rift, like John Calvin, Martin Luther, and Philipp Melanchthon, openly discussed and debated the doctrine of predestination. Even clerics within the Catholic Church held strong opposing views on the topic.

In the verses above, Paul introduces this issue somewhat casually, with little fanfare and little explanation. He simply writes, “In love he [God] predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (Ephesians 1:4 ESV). The Greek word translated “predestined” is προορίζω (proorizō), which means “to predetermine, decide beforehand; to foreordain, appoint beforehand” (“G4309 – proorizō – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). It speaks of God’s sovereign role in man’s salvation.

John Stott writes, “Now everybody finds the doctrine of election difficult. ‘Didn’t I choose God?’ somebody asks indignantly; to which we must answer ‘Yes, indeed you did, and freely, but only because in eternity God had first chosen you.’ ‘Didn’t I decide for Christ?’ asks somebody else; to which we must reply ‘Yes, indeed you did, and freely, but only because in eternity God had first decided for you’” (John R. W. Stott, The Message of Ephesians, p. 26).

In Paul’s redemptive theology, mankind was in a terrible, irreconcilable state: dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), blinded by the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4), imprisoned under sin (Galatians 3:22), incapable of understanding God or seeking Him (Romans 3:11), incapable of doing anything good (Romans 3:11), and devoid of any righteousness (Romans 3:10).

The blind are incapable of seeing light. The dead are unable to choose life. The deaf cannot hear the good news. Just as Jesus had to call Lazarus from the grave, He also had to give him the life required to obey that command. In the same way, the sinner must be given new life (regeneration) by God in order that he might comprehend and accept the gift being offered to him. Yes, as Dr. Stott so aptly put it, we do decide for Christ, but only after the Spirit of God has awakened us from death and given us the capacity to hear the good news and receive it.

In verse four of this chapter, Paul wrote, “he [God] chose us in him before the foundation of the world.” The word “chose” is the Greek word ἐκλέγομαι (eklegomai), which means “to pick out, choose, to pick or choose out for oneself” (“G1586 – eklegomai – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). God, in His divine will, has chosen to redeem some of all those who have been condemned to eternal separation because of their sin and rebellion against Him. Had God not mercifully and graciously intervened and provided the Messiah as the answer to mankind’s sin problem, no one would have been saved. Adam’s sin condemned all mankind and left them in a helpless, hopeless state, unable to save themselves from the inevitability of their future condemnation. All stood condemned before God because of their sin, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV).

Men don’t suddenly wake up, see their sin, and understand their need for a Savior; they must have their eyes opened by God. It is He who gives the spiritually dead life, the spiritually blind sight, and the spiritually deaf the capacity to hear His gracious offer of salvation for the first time in their lives. Salvation is the work of God, from start to finish. Jesus claimed, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44 ESV). Later in the same chapter, John records Jesus saying, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them” (John 6:65 NIV).

Paul’s point is not to negate the role of man in his own salvation. We must believe,  accept, and turn away from our sin to the saving work of Jesus Christ. But every aspect of that process is made possible by God Himself. He “chose us in him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 4:4 ESV), and He chose us to “be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 4:4 ESV). He “predestined us for adoption as Sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” – not ours. (Ephesians 4:5 ESV). It is all due to the “praise of his glorious grace” (Ephesians 4:6 ESV). It is in Christ that we have redemption through his blood and the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 1:7). He is the one who has made known the mystery of His will and lavished His grace upon us.

Salvation is a wonderful gift, provided by God for sinful men. There is not a man or woman who has ever lived who deserved to be saved or had the capacity to save themselves. Paul paints a very bleak picture when he writes, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12 ESV). And yet, Paul reminds us of the good news: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 ESV).

The marriage between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will remains a conundrum we find difficult to explain.

“It [election] involves a paradox that the New Testament does not seek to resolve, and that our finite minds cannot fathom. Paul emphasizes both the sovereign purpose of God and man’s free will.” – Francis Foulkes, The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, p. 46

Yet our inability to resolve the apparent incongruity between God’s election and man’s autonomy does not invalidate its reality. As the sovereign Creator of the universe, God has every right to determine the destiny of His creation, including humanity. And because God is righteous, He must deal justly with the rebellion of all those to whom He gave life and the privilege of bearing His image. And while we might wrestle with the thought of a loving God condemning sinful humanity to death, His justice demands it. Critics of the doctrine of election cry foul, saying it paints God as unjust and unfair, but Paul vehemently disagreed with that conclusion.

Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not! For God said to Moses,

“I will show mercy to anyone I choose,
and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”

So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.– Romans 9:14-16 NLT

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. – 2 Timothy 1:9 NLT

Lazarus walked out of the grave, not because he chose to do so, but because Jesus commanded him to do so. But Jesus’ command was accompanied by the power to resuscitate Lazarus’ dead, lifeless body. Wrapped in burial cloths and devoid of life, Lazarus was in no condition to respond to Jesus’ call. His ears could not hear, and his brain could not process Jesus’ words. But Jesus “elected” to give him life by regenerating his body so that he could obey the command, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43 NLT). It was Jesus who gave Lazarus the ability to step out of the darkness of the grave into the light of day. And we who have been elected by God can rejoice in the words of Peter when he wrote, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9 ESV).

Father, it is difficult to get my head around the concept of predestination. I have so programmed to believe in the sanctity of my own autonomy that it disturbs me to think that I am not always in control of my life. We humans treat free will a a priviliged and inaliable right. In our desire to think we are the masters of our fate and the captains of our souls, we relegate You to a sub-par position, immasculating Your power and diminishing Your sovereign rule and reign over our lives. But You are King and You rule over all. My salvation was not my decision; it was Yours. Like Lazarus, I was in no condition to choose life over death. I was dead in my trespasses and sins, but You chose to give me life. When I could do nothing, You did everything for me, including giving me the capacity to say yes to Your gracious and generous offer of eternal life. And I am forever grateful. Amen

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

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

Death Has Lost Its Grip On Me

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. – Romans 6:5-11 ESV

For Paul, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus were more than historical events; they were the key to his salvation, sanctification, and ultimate glorification. As he stated in Chapter 1, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16 ESV).

The gospel, God’s abounding grace as revealed through the sacrificial death of His own Son, had not only justified Paul in God’s eyes but also given him the power to say no to the old sin nature that waged war against the Spirit of God within him. Paul knew that, for believers, “our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives” (Romans 6:6 NLT).

Paul stresses that, in placing our faith in Christ’s substitutionary death on our behalf,  we are united with Him “in a death like his.” And, if that is true, then we are also “united with Him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5 ESV). From God’s perspective, we died alongside Christ. Not only that, we were raised with Christ, to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:5 ESV). His death put an end to sin’s vice-like grip over us. No longer do we live as slaves to sin, unable to resist its influence in our lives. Because we died with Christ, sin’s claim on our lives has been broken. We have been ransomed out of slavery and freed to live in the newness of who we are as children of God.

Paul brings up the logical conclusion that anyone who dies is immediately freed from the power of sin. Death eliminates their ability to sin because it brings an end to life. Dead people don’t sin because they lack the power to do so. That is why he states, “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.” (Romans 6:6 NLT).

As Christ hung on the cross, He bore the penalty and spiritual weight of our sins. And He died a gruesome, painful death. When He was placed in a borrowed tomb, He was lifeless, limp, and powerless; death had been victorious over Him. But then, three days later, something remarkable happened. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was brought back to life, but He was not just resuscitated; He was resurrected to new life with a new body. Yes, the nail prints in His hands and the wound in His side remained, and He was still recognizable to the disciples, but He was also different.

In His resurrected form, Jesus was no longer susceptible to pain and death. He had the capacity to move about freely, unencumbered by the physical constraints of the normal human body. He had conquered death and, in doing so, made it possible for those who believe in Him to also undergo a spiritual resurrection to new life. As Paul puts it, “so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin” (Romans 6:6-7 ESV).

In his letter to the church in Colossae, Paul encouraged them to focus their attention on the reality of Jesus’ resurrection and its implications for their earthly existence.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. – Colossians 3:1-3 NLT

He went on to tell them, “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you” (Colossians 3:5 NLT). This new life in Christ is not without its struggles. We still have our old, sinful natures lurking within us. We still have the capacity to sin. But Paul’s point is that we are no longer enslaved to sin; we have a choice. The key is to remember the reality of our new life in Christ. Paul put it this way to the church in Galatia:

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20 NLT

It is a matter of faith, not human effort. In my flesh, I lack the power to conquer my old sin nature. I can no more sanctify myself than I could have saved myself. Martin Luther described it this way: “Our spiritual life is a matter not of experience, but of faith. No one knows or experiences the fact that he lives spiritually or is justified, but he believes and hopes in this. We live unto God, that is, in our spiritual and new life to eternity” (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans).

Paul’s main point in this section seems to be that our new life, made possible by Christ’s resurrection, is to be lived for God. We are to “think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth” (Colossians 3:2 NLT). As Paul stated, each believer is to “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.” He tells us to “put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him” (Galatians 3:10 NLT).

Our new life in Christ requires constant vigilance, including putting off the old self and putting on the new. We are to pursue righteousness and flee from sin. We are to constantly consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. We belong to Him, and we exist for His glory.

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10 NLT

In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Stuart Townend & Keith Getty Copyright © 2001 Thankyou Music

Father, Your Son’s death, burial, and resurrection accomplished it all. He did what none of us could do. He lived a sinless life and was able to serve as the unblemished sacrifice for the sins of mankind. He paid the debt we owed and satisfied Your just judgment against our rebellion against You. Before Jesus took on human flesh and died on behalf of sinful humanity, sin ruled and reigned. Men and women were doomed to live enslaved to sin and condemned to eternal separation from You. But You changed all that when You sent Your Son to conquer sin and death on the cross. Now, we are free to live in obedience to Your will and fully capable of exhibiting the fruit of righteousness through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Sin has lost its grips on us. It no longer controls and condemns us because we have been set free by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and we are eternally grateful. Amen

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

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Called to Be Saints

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. – Romans 1:1-7 ESV

Paul wrote his letter to the church in Rome from the city of Corinth during the winter of A.D. 56-57. It would be another three years before Paul actually set foot in Rome and, when he did, he would do so as a prisoner of the Roman government. It is not clear how the church in Rome got started. Paul obviously played no role in it, having never been there before, and there is no indication that any other apostle had ever made it to the Roman capital to share the gospel. Nevertheless, the gospel had arrived, perhaps as a result of eyewitnesses to the events at the Feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the followers of Jesus. When Peter preached his first sermon, under the influence of the Spirit of God, more than 3,000 individuals came to faith in Christ. Many of these people, who had been in Jerusalem for the annual celebration of Pentecost, would have returned to their hometowns, carrying the good news about Jesus with them. It is likely that some were citizens of Rome.

Regardless of how the church in Rome began, it had gained a worldwide reputation, and Paul acknowledged it.

Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. – Romans 1:8 NLT

No doubt, Paul wrote his letter to the church in Rome under the influence of the Holy Spirit and with the desire to provide them with a solid understanding of the doctrine of the gospel of God. He knew the incredible influence this church would have because of its location within the capital of Rome, the most powerful nation in the world at the time.

Paul began his letter by introducing himself, even though the believers in Rome would have been well-acquainted with him. He referred to himself as a servant of Christ Jesus, who did not operate on his own initiative, but was a willing slave to the one who had saved him. He served as an apostle, commissioned by Jesus Himself. And he acknowledged that he had been set apart or appointed for a singular purpose: to take the gospel to the Gentiles.

The entire letter of Romans will elaborate on the remarkable significance of God’s good news concerning His Son. Paul boldly and unapologetically claims both the deity and full humanity of Jesus, “who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God” (Romans 1:3-4 ESV). Paul emphatically declares that Jesus was resurrected from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that one miraculous reality made salvation possible and the grace of God available to sinful mankind. The resurrection of Jesus is the central doctrine of the Christian faith. Without it, we have no hope, which is what led Paul to write, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17 ESV).

Paul never missed an opportunity to share the gospel, but he also took advantage of every chance he was given to strengthen the local church. He not only wanted to see people saved from sin, but also to ensure they grew in their salvation. In verse seven, Paul refers to his readers as saints (hagios), which means “set apart or holy ones.” In Paul’s mind, they were positionally holy, but they were also to be practically holy in their behavior. They had been “called to belong to Jesus Christ,” and so their actions and attitudes should reflect that calling.

A major part of what Paul writes in this letter concerns what practical holiness looks like. He wanted the Roman believers to live as if they were dead to sin and alive to God. They were to live by faith and not by works. They were to live according to the power of the Spirit of God and not the flesh. They were to recognize their position as heirs of God and to offer their bodies as living sacrifices to God, refusing to be conformed to this world.

The gospel of God does not stop with our salvation, but carries on throughout our lives as God continues His work of sanctification in our lives, “to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations” (Romans 1:5 ESV).

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are loved by God. The very fact that He sent His own Son to die in our place is the greatest expression of love He could have displayed. But not only are we loved by God, but we are also called by Him to be saints or set-apart ones. We are to live our lives in the power of His Holy Spirit and allow Him to continually transform us into the likeness of His Son. It is God’s miraculous transformation of us that proves our salvation by His Son. Not only have we been saved, but we are also being conformed to the image of Christ.

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. – Romans 8:29 ESV

God’s continual transformation of our lives is one of the greatest testimonies to the reality of the risen Christ and the power of the gospel.

Father, there is no doubt in my mind that You have been conducting an ongoing transformation of my life from the moment I placed my faith in Jesus at the age of seven. There have been days when that growth has wained and my faith has weakened, but You have never left me or forsaken me. Despite my stubbornness, You have never removed Your Spirit from me. I have repeatedly stiff-armed the Spirit and refused to listen to His words of warning and conviction. I have lived according to the flesh far more than I would like to admit. But Your work of sanctification in my life has never stopped. I can look back and see the radical change that has taken place, not because of my efforts, but because of Your grace, mercy, and love. More than 63 years ago, You called me into a relationship with You through faith in the death and resurrection of Your Son. Over the decades, You have remained faithful to Your promise to transform me into the likeness of Jesus. It hasn’t always been pretty and I haven’t always done my part. But I am grateful for Your commitment to finish what You began and for the knowledge that I will one day experience the joy of becoming like Christ, sinless, pure, and completely set apart from sin. Amen

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

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

The Goal of Godliness

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹ Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. – 2 Corinthians 7:1 ESV

What promises? Paul has just quoted from several Old Testament passages containing the following promises from God:

I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. – Leviticus 26:12 ESV

My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. – Ezekiel 37:27 ESV

I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. – 2 Samuel 7:14 ESV

Now, with those promises in mind, he asks: what should our reaction be? How should we respond? Paul is reminding his readers that they, like the Old Testament ancestors, have been set apart by God. He has chosen them to be His people and graciously agreed to be their God. He has consecrated them and set them apart from the rest of the nations to be His own possession. As the children of God, they were to live separately and distinctively from the rest of the world; that does not mean that Christians are to live their lives in isolation or in some kind of segregated society, separated from the rest of the world. This is not a call to monastic isolationism, but to sanctification or holiness.

Paul expected the believers to whom he was writing to live in such a way that their behavior differentiated them from everyone else. In the garden on the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed that His followers would be in the world but not of it.

I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. – John 17:14-17 NLT

The promise of citizenship in God’s Kingdom was to create in them a passion to live as who God had called them to be. They were His possession, and their lives were to reflect that unique privilege and totally undeserved position. They were to cleanse themselves from every defilement of body and spirit. Their former lives were like stained and soiled garments that required the removal of the impurities that accompanied their sinful flesh. Their old habits and sinful predilections had to be systematically and regularly done away with.

In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul emphasized the essential nature of this ongoing cleansing of the believer’s life.

God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. Never harm or cheat a Christian brother in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. – 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 NLT

The privilege of sonship comes with responsibilities. As children of God, we are to behave in such a way that our lives honor our heavenly Father. Ongoing sin is not to be a defining characteristic of the child of God. Paul was not insinuating that Christians cannot or will not sin. He would have wholeheartedly agreed with the apostle John’s assessment.:

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. – 1 John 1:8-10 NLT

The presence of and potential for sin is not eliminated when we come to faith in Christ, but sin’s power over us is. We are set free from its control. The Holy Spirit’s presence within us provides us with the supernatural capacity to choose righteousness over unrighteousness. We can refuse to give in to the temptations that once captivated and controlled us. 

Paul’s point in all of this is that our salvation in Christ has a second step: our ongoing sanctification. Coming to faith in Christ is to be accompanied by our continuous transformation into His likeness. And it is as we cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit that we experience what Paul refers to as “bringing holiness to completion.” The goal of our salvation is our ultimate glorification by God, the day when He will complete the process of renewal and reformation of our lives by giving us a new, completely sanctified body. Sin will be completely eliminated, and our transformation into the likeness of Christ will be complete. John describes that day in the following way:

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

In the meantime, as we wait for that day, we are to strive toward holiness, and to accomplish that objective, we must put off our old sinful nature and put on our new nature. That requires us to allow the Holy Spirit to expose the sin in our lives so we can confess it and enjoy the forgiveness Christ paid for. We are to flee sin and pursue righteousness. Paul repeatedly called believers to pursue a life of radical reformation and holy living.

Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. – 1 Corinthians 6:18 NLT

Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. – 2 Timothy 2:22 NLT

…so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. – 1 Timothy 6:11 NLT

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. – 2 Timothy 2:21 ESV

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. – Colossians 3:5 NLT

If you have been called by God to be His child, live like it. If you know the joy of having your debt to God paid for and your sins forgiven because of Jesus’ death on the cross, your lifestyle should reflect your gratitude and your recognition that you are a new creation with a new capacity to pursue holiness rather than sinfulness.

A child’s behavior reflects back on their parents. In the same way, our behavior as sons and daughters of God reflects back on our heavenly Father. Our attitudes and actions should honor Him, and our behavior should glorify Him. It was Jesus who said, “Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16 NLT). Peter echoed that sentiment when he wrote: “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world” (1 Peter 2:12 NLT).

Pursue holiness, strive after righteousness, and make godliness your goal — all for the glory of God and the good of others.

Father, I fully believe that I have been imputed the righteousness of Christ. When You look at me, You see me through the purifying power of His blood. Yet, I know that sin remains a constant reality in my life. I wrestle with it daily. But I know it’s power over me has been broken because of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Sin grip has lost its hold on me. But I need Your constant assistance in putting my old nature to death. Thank You for providing the Holy Spirit as my sin-slaying advocate who provides me with the power to pursue righteousness and to reject ungodliness. I don’t always listen to His prompting or avail myself of His power, but I am grateful that He never leaves me or forsakes me. He continually convicts and confronts me about my sin and graciously leads me back on the the right path. It’s an ongoing battle, but I know that one day, You will bring my holiness to completion. My future glorification is guaranteed because Your Son died, was buried, raised to life, and glorified. One day, He will return and finish what He began. In the meantime, give me the strength to live in this fallen world as a citizen of Your Kingdom. Amen

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

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

Be of Good Courage

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It Does Get Better Than This

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee – 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 ESV

Paul closed out his preceding thoughts with the words, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT). He contrasted the seen with the unseen, the temporal with the eternal, and the material with the spiritual. Now, in chapter five, he continues his comparison by noting the difference between our earthly, temporal bodies and the new, resurrected bodies we will receive as part of our glorification.

What we experience in this life is not all there is or will be. The body in which we live does not represent the reality of who we are. The apostle John points out, “We are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 NLT).

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “Our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies” (1 Corinthians 15:53 NLT).

Our earthly, physical bodies are not designed for eternity; they are temporal by nature and susceptible to disease, decay, and, ultimately, death. Paul so matter-of-factly states that there is a day coming when our earthly body will be destroyed. We will die, and our physical bodies will undergo decomposition. But Paul assures us that “we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT). He is referring to our resurrected, glorified body.

In his previous letter, Paul informed them of the glorious transformation that awaits every follower of Christ. 

Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. – 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 NLT

Paul states, “We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing” (2 Corinthians 5:2 NLT). No matter how hard we work to maintain our earthly bodies, they remain susceptible to disease, prone to atrophy, and destined for death. We can exercise, take supplements, and watch what we eat, but our earthly bodies are always aging and deteriorating. We may slow down the process, but we can’t prevent the inevitable.

The other issue we face in our temporary, earth-bound bodies is the pervasive presence of sin. Because of the fall, our physical bodies have been corrupted by sin. Not only has it brought the curse of death, but it has also produced an ongoing battle between righteousness and wickedness in our hearts. In his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul provided an autobiographical glimpse into his daily struggle with his own sin nature.

The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. – Romans 7:14-21 NLT

To the Corinthians, he described this internal battle as producing a burden that results in a longing for resolution. Our new nature wearies of the constant warfare going on within us. It even led Paul to exclaim, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans 7:24 NLT). And he answered his own question.

Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 7:25 NLT

Faith in Christ produces victory over the control and penalty of sin in this life and victory over the power and presence of sin in the next life. According to Paul, we should long for the day when we can put off this body of death and put on our new bodies, clothed in the righteousness of Christ. On that day, we will finally experience what it is like to be sinless and totally righteous, not just propositionally, but practically. Holiness will no longer be a goal for which we strive, but a reality in which we will live.

Paul states, “He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 5:5 ESV). We have been redeemed by God so that we might one day be restored to sinless perfection and be able to enjoy unbroken fellowship with Him. The Holy Spirit is a down payment, a kind of guarantee that what God has promised to us will be accomplished.

In this life, we enjoy the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God who guides and directs our lives. He convicts and comforts us, provides us with a supernatural source of power, and a never-ending supply of God’s mercy and grace. But while we enjoy His presence in our lives, we also struggle with the influence of indwelling sin and the external attacks of the enemy. Yet the day is coming when our fellowship with God will never again be broken by sin. Our righteousness will no longer be contaminated by unrighteous thoughts or actions. Our obedience will be complete. Our joy will be constant. Our holiness will be undiminished and unending.

But this future reality will require a new body like the one Jesus received at His resurrection. John reminds us, “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 NLT). Paul told the believers in Philippi, “We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control” (Philippians 3:20-21 NLT).

Paul reminds us that God has prepared us for this very thing. It is all part of His grand redemptive plan. Because of Christ, we are already new creations, but our transformation is not yet complete. There is one final step in our salvation story: our glorification. 

For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. – Romans 8:22-23 NLT

Father, the older I get, the more I recognize that this earthly body is not built for endurance. Like everything else in this fallen world, it is undergoing a constant state of entropy. I may be able to delay its ultimate demise, but I will never prevent the inevitable. That is why Paul’s message about our future glorification strikes a chord with me. I may not fully comprehend the concept, but I long to see it happen. It makes sense that You have a new and improved body planned for Your people. Even Jesus, at His resurrection, received a glorified body in which He ascended into Your presence and now exists by Your side. He remains fully God and fully man, but His new body will never experience pain, hunger, suffering, or death. Because of His resurrection, we have that same destiny and the Holy Spirit provides us with a glimpse of what that life will be like. Even in our fallen state, the Spirit’s power enables us to live righteous lives. We can say no to sin. We can experience the joy of Your presence and enjoy unbroken fellowship with You. But the day is coming when sin will no longer be a factor, sickness won’t be a problem, and death will be no more. Bring it on! I can’t wait. But I will, because I know Your plan is perfect and Your timing is impeccable. Amen

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

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

A Change For the Better

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

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

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. – 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 ESV

Paul lived with a sense of eminence and an eager anticipation of the Lord’s return. He fully expected to be alive when Jesus returned for His bride, the church. This attitude of expectation, coupled with his strong belief in the resurrection of the body, is what drove him to live his life to please God and make the most of the time he had on this earth. When the Son returned, which Paul believed would be soon, he wanted to be doing the will of God. So he told the Corinthians, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV).

All that he discusses in these closing verses of Chapter 15 concerns what he calls “a mystery,” which remains hidden from view, unrevealed, and unknown as to the day of its occurrence. No one knows the day of the Lord’s return. But just because we are ignorant of its timing does not mean we should doubt its validity. The events surrounding that day, including the resurrection of our bodies, though mysterious and unknown in exactly how they will occur, are to be believed and eagerly anticipated. Paul says that not every believer will undergo death; some will be alive and well when the Lord returns. And both the living and the dead will experience the resurrection of their earthly bodies.

Paul does not explain how this will happen because he doesn’t know. He simply reveals that it will happen unquestionably and instantaneously, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52 ESV). He says, “the dead will be raised imperishable” and those who are alive on that day, “shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52 ESV). Both groups will receive their new spiritual bodies, made in “the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49b ESV).

The apostle John informs us, “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 NLT). Instantaneously, we will all undergo a miraculous transformation, receiving our new resurrected bodies, created by God for our new home and designed to exist for eternity.

For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. – 1 Corinthians 15:53 NLT

And when that happens, Paul says, it will be a slap in the face to death. Death is the wage or payment for a life of sin (Romans 6:23). When sin entered the world at the fall, it brought with it death.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. – Romans 5:12 NLT

For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. – Romans 5:17 NLT

Because of Jesus, death has lost its sting, meaning it no longer has its power over us. Those who have placed their faith in Jesus no longer need to fear death. That does not mean that we are immune to death; even believers die. But the real “sting” of death, its power to separate men from their God, is no longer valid. All men die, but not all men will experience eternal separation from God. At death, those who have placed their faith in His Son will find themselves immediately transferred into the presence of God the Father. Paul alludes to this reality in his second letter to the Corinthians:

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. – 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 ESV

Well-versed in the Old Testament, Paul paraphrases Hosea 13:14 and uses it to taunt death. Because of Jesus, death’s power over us has been broken. It is like a toothless, declawed lion, intimidating and with a scary roar, but devoid of any real power to do us harm.

But Paul’s real message seems to be that the future assurance of the Lord’s return and the certainty of the resurrection of our bodies should embolden us to live godly lives as we wait. We are to remain “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:538 ESV).

Rather than wasting our time arguing over spiritual gifts and debating who follows whom, we need to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the lost and extend the love of God to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Rather than worrying about death, we need to focus on living for God and making the most of every moment He gives us on this earth. We are His servants and exist for His glory. He has called us to do His will and to spread the message of salvation made possible through His Son’s death on the cross.

But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:22-23 NLT

Father, thank You for this much-needed reminder that Your Son is going to return some day. But we’re not to sit around waiting for the eventuality of that day; we are to be busy doing the work He gave us to do. We are to be disciple-makers who carry on His ministry of reconciliation. We are to be good-new bearers, spreading the message of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone to the ends of the earth. His return should serve as our motivation, because it reminds us that His work is not done. He has yet to establish His earthly Kingdom, but He will. And when He returns to do so, we will receive our glorified bodies and finally escape the sting of death. But that is not to be our sole motivation. Our ministry on this earth should be in response to Your gracious love and in obedience to His commission. I want to be a faithful steward (1 Corinthians 4:1-2), carrying out Your will to my final breath or until Your Son returns. Amen

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

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

A Belief Worth Dying For

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. – 1 Corinthians 15:29-34 ESV

In verse 29, Paul takes a rather interesting but confusing diversion from his primary topic. He is simply trying to emphasize his point regarding the reality of the resurrection. To do so, he brings up another practice that was evidently common in Corinth. It involved proxy baptism or baptism for the dead. It’s likely that this practice was common in the pagan community, and some recent converts to Christianity retained their belief in it. Over the years, this verse has received as many as 40 different interpretations.

“They included that Christians in Corinth were being “baptized into the ranks of the dead” by martyrdom (thinking of “baptism” in the light of Mark 10:38; Luke 12:50), that this was ordinary Christian baptism that took place “over” the grave of the dead, or that new Christians were baptized to “replace” Christians who had died. Though interesting, these proposals lack credibility. The most plausible interpretation is that some in Corinth were getting baptized vicariously for the dead. Several factors, however, put this into perspective. Although Paul does not explicitly condemn the practice, neither does he endorse it.” – Christianity Today, August 10 1998, Vol. 42, No. 9

The most likely explanation is that Paul was referring to a practice common among the mystery religions in and around Corinth. These pagan religions encouraged their followers to be baptized on behalf of and in place of their deceased relatives in order to assure their “salvation.” It is the same belief held today by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). But Paul is not endorsing this practice. Notice that he says, “What do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf (1 Corinthians 15:29 ESV)?”

He is pointing out what others, outside the church, were doing. This was a practice familiar to the Corinthian believers, and Paul uses it to demonstrate that even pagan mystery religions held to the resurrection of the dead. Otherwise, their practice of proxy baptism would have been pointless. Paul was using this bizarre pagan practice to assert his belief in the resurrection of the dead. He is not condoning proxy baptism, but simply illustrating that even false religions embrace the concept of the resurrection. For Paul, the real danger was that a Christ follower would reject or refuse to believe in it, because that would be to reject the gospel.

Paul insists that his preaching of the resurrection of Christ had caused him great difficulty. On his missionary journeys, he had repeatedly put his life on the line to preach the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In almost every city he entered, Paul would make a beeline for the synagogue, where he would deliver his message about Jesus as the Messiah.

As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” – Acts 17:2-3 NLT

When he had first come to Corinth, he preached the same message.

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. – 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

In Thessalonica, Paul and Silas had to run for their lives because the Jews had reacted to his “resurrection” message by stirring up a riot among the citizens. In Athens, “when they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt” (Acts 17:32 NLT). In Corinth, when he “testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah…they opposed and insulted him” (Acts 18:5-6 NLT). 

When Paul met with the elders of the church in Ephesus, he reminded them, “I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:19-21 NLT). That message was built upon the reality of the resurrection. Jesus had died and been raised back to life, as proof that He was the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah.

Paul had suffered greatly as a result of his belief in the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus was a major cause of persecution of the disciples in the early church. When Paul asked, “Why are we in danger every hour?” (1 Corinthians 15:30 ESV), it was a rhetorical question. The answer was clear: the message of the resurrection was the cause of their suffering.

In Acts chapter 4, Luke records that Peter and John, after sharing the gospel in Solomon’s Portico in Jerusalem, were arrested.

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. – Acts 4:1-4 ESV

They were arrested for proclaiming that Jesus had risen from the dead. It was this message that riled the Jewish religious leaders. The next day, as they stood before the high priest and his religious cohorts, Peter and John were asked to explain by what power or authority they had healed a crippled man the day before. And Peter responded, “Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well” (Acts 4:10 ESV).

It is the resurrection of Jesus that gave the gospel its power and made possible the coming of the Holy Spirit. To reject the resurrection simply because you can’t explain it would be absurd. That is why Paul asks the Corinthians, “And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, ‘Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!’” (1 Corinthians 15:32 NLT).

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Jesus was not raised from the dead, and we have no hope of future resurrection. This life is all there is. If that’s the case, let us enjoy our lives while we can and stop worrying about eternity. But Paul rejects that logic. In fact, he tells the Corinthians, “Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:34 ESV). It was as if their senses had been numbed by too much alcohol, affecting their ability to think clearly. So, Paul demanded that they “sober up” and start listening to God rather than their pagan friends and neighbors. The resurrection of Jesus was just as much a part of God’s plan as His death. When the women had come to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, they were met by two angels, who said to them:

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. – Luke 24:5-9 ESV

We need to wake up and recognize the reality of the resurrection. It is the resurrection of Jesus that gives us hope and assures us of our future resurrection. It is because Jesus rose again that we can believe He will one day come again. In the meantime, as we wait for that day, Paul would have us remember, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you” (Romans 8:11 NLT).

Father, the very fact that Paul had to spend so much time defending the reality of Christ’s resurrection proves that it was under attack. And the same thing is true today. The world can’t fathom the concept of a man dying for the sins of humanity and then rising back to life. It sounds far-fetched and more like a fairy tale. But for those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus, we see the resurrection as not only a reality, but a necessity. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then our hope in eternal life is vain. Without the resurrection, there is no salvation, sanctification, or future glorification. But thank You, Father, that Your redemptive plan not included Your Son’s sacrificial death but also His supernatural resurrection. He is alive and seated by Your side in heaven and, one day, He is coming back. His mission is not yet complete, but He will finish what He began because You are a promise-keeping God. Amen

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

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

The Reality of the Resurrection

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. – 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 ESV

Whether or not some of the Corinthians wanted to believe in the possibility of the resurrection of the dead, Paul was unequivocally certain that Jesus had done just that. As far as he was concerned, it was a non-contestable fact, and he had firsthand knowledge of its reality. Paul had personally encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, and it had radically changed his life (Acts 9:1-7).

As Paul stated earlier, after Jesus was resurrected, He appeared to hundreds of individuals and, “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:8-9 ESV. When Mary Magdalene and Mary visited Jesus’ burial site that fateful Sunday morning, they found the stone had been rolled away and the tomb empty. But their shock and dismay was quited by the words of the angel. 

“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.” – Matthew 28:5-7 NLT

As far as Paul was concerned, this was not a point open to discussion or debate; it was a fact, and one for which Paul was willing to give his life.

It was the resurrection of Jesus that made it possible for sinful men and women to be restored to a right relationship with a holy God. His resurrection proved that His sacrifice had been accepted by God, and because God was satisfied with His Son’s payment, He was able to justify sinful men and women, forgive their sins, and declare them righteous in His eyes. The resurrection of Jesus is essential to the gospel message.

The first Adam, through his sin, brought death into the world, but Jesus came to rectify that problem. Paul clarifies the difference between Adam and Jesus in his letter to the Romans.

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. – Romans 5:17-19 ESV

Adam brought sin and condemnation to humanity; his transgression resulted in death for all. But Jesus, through His death, made possible new life and forgiveness of sins. But had He not risen from the dead, none of that would have been possible. He would have been nothing more than a martyr, not the Messiah and Savior of the world. But Jesus was physically resurrected from the dead. The tomb was empty. He had a physical body and was seen and recognized by many who talked with Him and even shared a meal with Him. He was not a spirit without a body. However, His body, in its resurrected state, was different than before. But He ate with the disciples and could be touched by them. He had a tangible, corporeal body.

Paul’s point is that we will one day experience the very same thing when we receive our new resurrected bodies. Will our bodies appear just as they did at the point of our death? If I die at 80, will I be eternally an octogenarian in heaven? If a child dies at seven, will he or she bear that likeness throughout eternity? The Scriptures don’t answer these questions. But we are told that we will receive new bodies.

Later in the same chapter, Paul elaborates on the idea of our new, resurrected bodies. He wants to address the confusion and concerns the Corinthians have over the whole idea of dead bodies being given new life.

 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. – 1 Corinthians 15:35-37 NLT

The point is that there is a body made for this earth and a body that God has intended for eternity. Our earthly bodies are designed to wear out, die, and decompose. But our heavenly bodies will be eternal and indestructible. He goes on to explain the difference.

Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. – 1 Corinthians 15:43-44 NLT

The designated day on which we will receive our heavenly bodies is at the resurrection of the dead, an event that has yet to take place. It is on that occasion that God will consummate His redemptive plan. Paul states that the “last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26 ESV). With the resurrection of our bodies, we will no longer be susceptible to death. We will experience eternal life, free from all fear of death, physical or spiritual.

In his letter to the Thessalonian believers, Paul offered them hope regarding the reality of the resurrection of the dead.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. –
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT

When Paul refers to the dead believers rising from their graves, he is talking about their newly resurrected bodies, not their souls. Their souls have been with God in heaven since their death. But they, along with all those who are alive when the Lord returns, will be given their newly glorified bodies that are imperishable and incorruptible.

For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. – 1 Corinthians 15:53 NLT

The truth is, there will be a resurrection from the dead, and Jesus was the firstfruits, “the first of a great harvest of all who have died” (1 Corinthians 15:20 NLT). His resurrection gives us confidence and hope that we, too, will share that same fate. We will experience resurrection just as He did, and that will take place when He returns for His church at the rapture. Paul described the scene in his first letter to the Thessalonians.

…we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. – 1 Thessalonians 4:17 NLT

This will be followed by the seven years of the Tribulation, which will culminate with the second coming of Christ. Then the millennial Kingdom of Christ will begin, when He will rule for a thousand years on earth, bringing everyone and everything under His subjection. At the end of that period of time, He will turn over all power and authority to God the Father. Satan will be defeated once and for all, and the reign of sin and death will end.

That is the truth, and it should bring us hope, joy, and confidence in the future. God’s will will be done. Christ’s mission will be completed. And we will be resurrected.

Father, Paul said that “in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling” (2 Corinthians 5:2 BSB). He’s right. The older I get, the more I realize that my earthly body is nothing more than a temporary vessel that houses my eternal soul. It isn’t meant to last and that becomes increasingly clear with each passing birthday. Sickness, injury, disease, and death are constant realities. But You have another reality in store for those of us who have placed our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Your Son. We will experience the same miraculous resurrection and glorification that He did. He was the first, but we will be part of the countless host of faithful followers who will be as He is. “He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own” (Philippians 3:21 NLT). Thank You for the assurance and hope we have in Jesus because You raised Him from the dead and one day He is coming back. Amen

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

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

He Arose!

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 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. – 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 ESV

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is essential to the gospel message. Paul spent the entire opening paragraph of this chapter making that point clear. He claims that the Corinthians had believed the gospel message, including the part concerning Christ’s resurrection. Yet some in the Corinthian church rejected the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. This may have been due to their dualistic background. In their minds, the body was deemed to be evil and non-spiritual. So the idea of the body someday being resurrected or redeemed made no sense to them. Yet Paul regularly taught the resurrection of the body. In his second letter to the believers in Corinth, he wrote:

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 5:1-15 NLT

He assured the believers in Rome:

…we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. – Romans 8:23-24 ESV

As far as Paul was concerned, the resurrection would involve both our body and soul. We will be glorified. We will be resurrected from the dead just as Jesus was. And yet, there were some of the Corinthians who rejected that idea. They had a difficult time believing that God would redeem and glorify their bodies. So Paul attempts to address their concerns and misconceptions in a logical and methodical manner. He delivers his defense of the resurrection in a simple, matter-of-fact way.

For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. – 1 Corinthians 15:13-14 NLT

In other words, if they wanted to reject the idea of the resurrection of the body from the dead, they would be contradicting the firsthand testimony of more than 500 eyewitnesses, including Paul himself. Paul has already reminded them that when stated Jesus walked from the tomb with a resurrected body, He was seen and recognized by hundreds of individuals, including Paul himself. He had seen Jesus in His resurrected body on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).

Earlier in this letter, Paul stated what was of “first importance.” Jesus died, was buried, was raised on the third day, then He appeared to Peter, the disciples, more than 500 believers at one time, to James, and to all the apostles. And He did all this in His resurrected body, which was recognizable to all who saw Him. Even the wounds from the nails and spear were still visible (John 20:27). To deny the doctrine of the resurrection of the body was to reject the resurrection of Jesus. And without the resurrection, there is no gospel. There is no good news. Paul exposed the serious consequences of their logic.

If the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. – 1 Corinthians 15:16 ESV

But it gets even worse than that.

And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. – 1 Corinthians 15:17 NLT 

In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! – 1 Corinthians 15:18 NLT

The resurrection of Jesus proved that His death had satisfied the just demands of God. His substitutionary sacrifice atoned for humanity’s sins, and God affirmed His acceptance of it by raising His Son back to life.

In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul wrote:

…he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:9-11 ESV).

The resurrection of Jesus was essential to His glorification.

Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. – Romans 8:34 ESV

Because Jesus was raised from the dead and sits at the right hand of the Father, we have hope. We have assurance that there is more to life than this temporary earthly existence. Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension demonstrated that our future glorification will not take place in this life, but in the one to come.

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while [in this life], he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. – 1 Peter 5:10 NLT

But if we reject the reality of the resurrection, we have no hope. Paul puts it in blunt terms: “if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world” (1 Corinthians 15:19 NLT). We are to be pitied because we still face death and the condemnation that comes as a result of our sins. Without the resurrection, our sin debt remains unpaid, and a death sentence still hangs over our heads.

We may not be able to explain the resurrection. We may have difficulty understanding exactly how God will bring it about. But its reality is assured, and our hope in it is essential. That is why the author of Hebrews described faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV). It is the resurrection of Jesus that enables us to have faith in what we hope for—our own future resurrection. It allows us to believe in what we can’t see – the future redemption of our bodies. Because He lives, we can trust that we will one day live with Him.

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives! –  Bill Gaither, Because He Lives

Father, the concept of the resurrection is difficult for our finite, earthbound minds to grasp. In this life, we watch our bodies decay and we witness the daily reminder that death is inevitable and avoidable. Yet, You have provided a way for us to have victory over death. Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Your Son, You have not only paid the penalty for sins of mankind, but You have proven that the promise of eternal life is real. As the old hymn states, “Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph o’er His foes. He arose a Victor from the dark domain and He lives forever with His saints to reign.” That is our hope and we count on it because You are a faithful, covenant-keeping God. With Peter, I say, “All praise to You, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by Your great mercy that we have been born again, because You raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for us, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through our faith, You are protecting us by Your power until we receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see” (1 Peter 1:3-5 NLT). Amen

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

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