John 6:63
There are a few
lessons to learn from what Paul is about to explain to us. One, is to know
that your body, in the spiritual sense, is the
Temple
of the Holy Spirit. In the fleshly sense, it is nothing. Take care of it
for God, not because you want to look good for mankind. Another lesson is,
don’t judge by appearances, because appearance is of the flesh. And yet
another message, don’t let fleshly things control you or influence you,
because when you are acting in the flesh, or acting for the flesh, you’re
absent from the presence of the Lord. Paul explains these things about our
“earthen vessels” that we occupy.
We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle
(temporary shelter made of dust) were dissolved,
we have a building of God,
an house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens.
In other words, if this short lived body
that we reside in now were dead,
we have a permanent home in heaven.
In these fleshly bodies we groan
sincerely desiring (our spirit) to be clothed
with our house which is from Heaven,
because with Heaven’s eternal clothing,
we shall never be found naked.
So, we grieve, dragging around these heavy,
cumbersome bodies that our spirits are trapped within while on this earth,
ever longing for our permanent home, which God has prepared for us.
In these bodies, we groan, being burdened,
not because we wish to be unclothed,
but clothed upon, so that what is mortal
(corrupt, temporal, fleshly)
may be swallowed up by life.
We’ve been taught by the media, movies,
books, etc., that the bad usually overcomes the good, but Paul paints a
wonderful picture for us of everlasting life swallowing up all the
undesirable things. A refreshing switch from the expected in the form of
hope from Paul . . . always encouraging.
Now, the one that has created us for this very thing, is God,
who has also given us the earnest
(down payment for our eternal home)
of the Holy Spirit.
So, knowing that while we occupy our home in the flesh,
we are absent from the Lord
(
)
but we are trustful, I say,
and willing instead to be absent from the body
and to be present with the Lord.
This is what we strive for,
that whether present or absent,
we may be accepted by Him.
Humanly speaking, Paul is explaining that
as long as we’re in our mortal bodies, we will not be in the presence of the
Lord, because He is spiritual, so we put off our bodies, in other words, we
try and look at things spiritually whenever possible, in order to be present
with Him.
For we must all appear before the
Judgment
seat of Christ,
that every one may receive the things done in his body,
according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad.
Here’s a little
Daily Bread Crumb to go along with what you just read. The Buddhists and the
Hindus have a word for this, which is “karma”. Our recent generations
describe it with the phrase “what goes around, comes around.” Paul just
straight up tells the TRUTH about it though, here and in
Galatians 6:7,
where he says, Whatever you sow, you will also reap. It’s judgment, friends,
plain and simple.
Here’s a couple of
things to ponder on while you think about this, and I never grow tired of
mentioning this, Your sin will never outweigh
God’s Grace. Now,
here’s a question. Do we sometimes pay our debts for bad deeds during this
life, before judgment day? We know that charity removes a multitude of sins,
1Peter 4:8 so
are there other things that we go through that also erase bad deeds? Not
punishments from God, but maybe unfortunate happenings that are beyond our
control. What if you become the victim of something that had nothing to do
with your own choices, does that count? What about sacrifice? What about
suffering? Fasting? Prayer? Generosity? All these things are interesting
things to think about. One thing is for certain. Repentance brings
forgiveness, so don’t rely on misfortune to clean up your score card with
God. Rely on His mercy and your Faith in Christ. The other things are works
that do build good character, if you don’t do them out of obligation, but
effortlessly.
As we return to Paul’s letter, remember
that Paul is still discussing the accusations of people against him and
Timothy, though he throws in some spiritual messages here and there.
Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord,
we persuade (convince) men of our worthiness;
but we are made evident to God;
and I trust also that our worthiness is obvious in your
consciences too.
We don’t present our honor again to you,
but be give you reason to be thankful for us,
so that you have something to say to those who honor
appearances,
and not the heart.
Well, from that last statement, now we can deduce that someone has
criticized the appearance of paul's Ministry or perhaps even Paul’s physical
appearance. Don’t forget what God told Samuel in
1 Samuel 16:7,
The Lord sees not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but
the Lord looks on the heart. This all fits in real well with Paul’s message
about the flesh, too, doesn’t it?
Now, if we’re crazy, we’re crazy about God,
or if we’re of sound mind, it is for your good.
For the love of Christ compels us,
because we see it like this,
that if Christ died for all, then everyone was dead,
and because He died for all,
those who live, from this point on,
shouldn’t live for themselves,
but for Him which died for them, and rose again.
So, from now on, we don’t know any man according to the
flesh (in a human sense),
yes, though we have known Christ according to the flesh,
but now we no longer know Him in that way.
Therefore if any man is of Christ, he is a new creature,
old things are passed away;
and notice, all things are become new.
That was a great definition that Paul just
explained of being “born again” or “reborn.”
And all things are of God, who has reconciled (made peace
with) us to Himself by Jesus Christ,
and has given to us the ministry of peace,
That is to say, that God was in Christ, making peace with the world for
Himself,
not counting their trespasses against them,
and has committed to us the Word of peace.
Now then we are ambassadors (representatives) for Christ,
as though God did beg you through us: we pray that you, in
Christ's behalf,
be reconciled to (restored to harmony with) God.
For He has made Him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
To understand this
last verse better, I encourage you to read
Isaiah, Chapter
53, especially verses 6, 9 and 11. Our merciful Father, provided a
scapegoat for us . . . His most cherished thing in the universe . . . His
Son.
There were lots of
great and important messages in this short chapter. This is one of those
that if you read it again, you’re sure to find something you missed the
first time around, and if you read it a third time, you’ll probably find
even more!
More great study
ahead as we continue through this second letter from Paul to the
Corinthians, right here at Daily Bread, so hurry back!
