"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
(2 CORINTHIANS 4:18)
INSIGHT
HE LIVES, INDEED, AMONG US, AND BY HIS RESURRECTION WE ARE FORMED.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Ruth 1-4
Psalm 119:89-176
1 Corinthians 13
2 Corinthians 4:1-18
New Living Translation (NLT)
Treasure in Fragile Clay Jars
4 Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way,[
3
Footnotes:
5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.[a]b]c]d]e]
a.
2 Corinthians 4:1 Or ministry.
b.
2 Corinthians 4:7 Greek We now have this treasure in clay jars.
c.
2 Corinthians 4:13 Ps 116:10.
d.
2 Corinthians 4:14 Some manuscripts read who raised Jesus.e. NEVER FORSAKEN [PART 1]
with J.J. Jasper
"How could you let this happen?" J.J. Jasper begged God for an answer when he lost his 5-year-old son. To his surprise God answered and gave him a powerful testimony of joy and hope.
2 Corinthians 4:16 Greek our inner being is. being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 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. will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are[ 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,[ This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.
13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”[ we never give up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.
Before his death, Jesus introduced Himself to the world through His deeds and words, the stories of which we can now read in the New Testament. But He also revealed His character through His Spirit, by breathing on His followers-filling up their lungs, beating in their hearts - to accomplish His ministry, just as He wants to do with us today.
Those forty days when Christ walked the earth after His death remind us that we, too, can meet the Man who likewise breathes on us so that He can send us out. We, too, can receive the eternal perspective that motivated the early church so that we can endure any trial with an equal sense of joy and trust.
We are the ones about whom Christ told Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." Though we're not literal eyewitnesses, we are nonetheless witnesses to Christ's new body throughout history. Let us fix our eyes on Him, then, and on the eternal gift of life with Him, as we gather with one another regularly in worship, changed in His presence.
2 Corinthians 4:1-18
No comments:
Post a Comment