Exodus may be the perfect word for verses 4-6. Deliverance from an oppression into new freedom: from confidence in self to certainty in Christ; from what little we can claim for self to the MUCH we gain from God; from rules that condemn us to grace that exonerates us; from debilitating human effort to Christ-focused conviction, conversion and commitment.
Consider some of the scriptural deliverances the word EXODUS embodies. Abraham from paganism; Israel from Egyptian bondage; Israel from Babylonian bondage; David from death in Philistia; Jesus from death in Jerusalem; Christians from this world’s depraved standards; Christians from the fear of death; Christians from a future of limitation to unlimited freedom in mental and spiritual dimensions. End Part II
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II Corinthians 3:1-18 deserves particular ministerial attention and at least two message preached from it. I preached the first one Sunday, 2/2/20 from verses 12-18, based on verses 1-11. The second one will be preached 2/9/20. Consider in the blogs this week how New Testament scripture teaches the life of Christ in Ministry as the fulfillment of Old Testament teaching and through the Holy Spirit to the church. Read each passage before reading the suggested interpretation.
Verses 1-3 1. Paul’s entire life proved so authentic he needed only write to be heard and believed. Jesus embodied that characteristic and shared it with his apostles. Everything in them advertised integrity and character! All of God’s preachers need such authenticity. 2. While Law is necessarily codified, God’s grace is always best when LIVED. Law, unless changed, is finalized once inscribed; grace continues expanding in every mind and heart once invited to rule, bringing increasing spiritual maturity. 3. Preaching God’s word at any level always produces results, the deeper the study the greater the results. If preachers want living spiritual epistles of their people, not dead letters of no influence, they must accustom themselves to more in-depth study of, not mere reading-of, God’s word. 4. That consistently provides disciples who mature from lower to higher levels of faith, advancing from glory to glory in the wisdom of God through Christ. 5. While Bible truth usually seems to handle us roughly by our having so little polished faith and habits, Christ’s Spirit gently but firmly caresses us with grace, not bludgeons us with Law. As the motto of Ozark Christian College says, we teach the word of Christ in the Spirit of Christ. End Part I When on 24 June, 1807, Czar Alexander I met Napoleon on a raft in the middle of the Tilsit River, the victorious French found a valued ally in the beaten Russian. Napoleon had once been but an artillery lieutenant. On that June day he mastered Continental Europe. With the treaty at Tilsit he could have turned his full attention to governing, not fighting.
However, past success in ruling and legislating hadn’t satisfied the Emperor. Whatever his conquests, he needed more. However many battle flags draped his headquarters, the one he didn’t have beckoned him. He didn’t know when to stop. Age of Napoleon, 22 Satan had that problem with Jesus. He left after being scathingly repulsed by the Lord in the wilderness but, as Luke wrote ominously, “until an opportune time” 4:13. A master at re-configuring himself, Satan returned throughout the Master’s ministry: through family interference Mark 3:20-21, 31-35; through disciple arrogance Mark 8:31-33; through Pharisaic deceit Matthew 12:38; through the agony of Gethsemane John 14:30-31, to name four. Satan never accepted the crushing defeat Jesus inflicted on him every time they collided. Like Napoleon not knowing when to quit, Satan continues his ruthless historical opposition to Jesus. Like Napoleon, who couldn’t help but retreat after being systematically beaten in Russia, Satan will unwillingly finish his opposition when God’s angels forcefully throw him into Hell Revelation 20:10. Unlike both Satan and Napoleon, Jesus knew exactly what to do when he came and pursued it relentlessly. And knows exactly when to stop: “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” I Corinthians 15:24-26. Then, in an administrative change, Jesus yields his Ministry Authority to the Father while continuing as our eternal High Priest Hebrews 4:14-16. Redeemed, glorified humanity will always be represented by the SON before the FATHER. |
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