Just a note to say… Don’t worry, the King’s English will continue in 2012. If you’ve come late to the party, never mind, we’ll do it all again next year. I will be reposting these thoughts daily which means you can get your daily dose by subscribing via RSS or via email (when I can figure out the widget!).
Glory to Jesus!
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What is the message of Christianity for the world? If you could boil it down, what is the proclamation of the church? Paul has a wonderful summary in Ephesians 3:8.
John Wycliffe translated it: “the vnserchable richessis of Crist”.
William Tyndale put it as: “the unsearchable ryches of Christ.”
And, in that tradition, the King James Bible rendered the verse like this:
“Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”
This is the subject of Paul’s preaching: “Christ’s riches.”
He uses the word “riches” six times in Ephesians (1:7,18; 2:4,7; 3:8,16). It’s the word that describes Abraham’s wealth (Genesis 13:2), and Solomon’s (1 Kings 3:13), and ‘the rich man’s’ (Mark 10:25). Yet Christ’s abundance far surpasses these “rich men.” It is “unsearchable.”
How do we feel about the super-rich? Envy? Contempt? Fear? Well Christ has “unsearchable riches”. He’s not just “the 1%,” He’s the 0.000000000000001%. What do we feel about His fabulous wealth?
Actually Paul feels brim full of joy and gratitude. Because these riches are riches of grace and mercy. Christ is not only stinking rich, He is a profligate philanthropist, as we shall see.
Let’s trace through Paul’s use of “riches” in Ephesians.
We begin before the foundation of the world with Christ, the Father’s heavenly storehouse (Ephesians 1:3). From eternity He commits all things into the Son’s hands (John 3:35). The nations are His inheritance (Psalm 2:8). The whole creation is a love gift for Him (Colossians 1:15-16). Christ has unsearchable riches because He is the Father’s Firstborn, the Heir Apparent, the Beloved Son. But just as these riches flow from Father to Son, so they overflow from Christ to the world. Such riches are a super-abundance of divine love and generosity, and so…
God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved). (Ephesians 2:4-5)
In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; (Ephesians 1:7-8)
God hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (Eph 2:6-7)
But perhaps you don’t feel able to appreciate this wealth. Maybe you’re not feeling the benefits of this incredible union with Christ? Well God’s riches don’t just bestow grace, they also enable you to appreciate such grace:
[I pray that the Father] would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. (Ephesians 3:16-17)
Here is a wonderful truth: God even has riches that awaken us to the riches that He’s already bestowed! Talk about grace upon grace.
So God’s present riches make us appreciate His past riches. But, more than this, Paul prays we would know His future riches too…
[I pray] that ye may know… the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. (Ephesians 1:18)
What a day of sumptuous opulence! What overwhelming prosperity we will enjoy when we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ of the whole cosmos. To cap it all off, that day will be the day that the Lord inherits us, His saints. How incredible – the riches that will flow when Christ returns!
What can we do in the meantime except…
…to preach among the nations the unsearchable riches of Christ. (Ephesians 3:8)
Christ is the storehouse of the Father’s overflowing bounty. We are beggars, more than destitute in our sins. Yet, through Christ, we have been adopted as heirs into that eternal royal Family.
We call on an “Abba, Father” who is mind-blowingly rich and who, literally, loves us to death! Does that change the way you approach your day today?
Maybe your earthly father had short arms and deep pockets. Or long arms and shallow pockets. Or crossed arms and closed pockets.
Your Father in heaven is different. In Jesus we have come to a Father who is both super-wealthy and over-flowingly kind. So rejoice in your generous God. And preach to the world “the unsearchable riches of Christ.”
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The saying is instantly recognisable as religious. Even if few people know where it comes from, most will assume it’s biblical. And they’ll assume that they know what it means.
It’s about cause and effect right? It’s saying: ‘What goes around, comes around.’ ‘If you play with fire, you’re going to get burned.’ ‘Everyone gets what they deserve.’
Perhaps we think it’s the Bible’s version of Karma – a conditional, performance-based spirituality where the books will all balance and justice will have the last word. Therefore, Look out sinners – a man reaps what he sows.
But actually Paul’s letter to the Galatians (from which our phrase comes) radically subverts this way of thinking.
He begins the letter by pronouncing a deadly anathema on anyone who denies or perverts the gospel of grace (Galatians 1:6-9). Even the Apostle Peter gets a blast from Paul when he forgets the truth of our gracious justification (Galatians 2:11-21). Paul is at pains to show that true righteousness has never been won by moral obedience but only by faith alone (Galatians 3-4). It is Christ who earns our salvation through His life, death and resurrection – not us. We are incapable of producing the life of God. The”flesh” we have inherited from Adam (our old nature) cannot work righteousness – though it constantly tries to do so. One of the characteristics of the “flesh” is its desire to self-justify. The flesh loves to live under the law in order to boast in its moral abilities. But no, Christ works righteousness for us, without any assistance from us. Then, wonderfully, we are “clothed in Christ” as the Spirit unites us to Him (Galatians 3:26-4:7).
Therefore a Christian is someone who has their flesh from Adam, but their Spirit from Christ. While the flesh produces Adam-like sin and death, the Spirit bears Christ-like fruit in our lives (Galatians 5).
Therefore Paul exhorts us to live in accordance with the truth. We ought to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. That is, we ought to dwell on Christ’s performance and not our own. We ought to be about Christ’s doing and not our own.
In that context we come to our verse for today:
Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. ((Galatians 6:7-8)
It turns out that Paul isn’t affirming a Christian Karma after all. Actually he’s speaking against it. You see the way of the flesh is the way of earning, performance and self-glorification. But Paul says – that is a perishing path. To invest in that is to invest in corruption itself. There is an organic union between flesh and death. To sow on this soil reaps exactly what you’d expect.
Yet there is another kind of life. And it’s not life ‘under the law.’ It’s not about getting your just deserts. The way of the Spirit is the way of grace. He is always bringing us the things of Christ (John 16:15). To ‘sow’ to the Spirit is to invest in the gospel word and live by this truth from beyond ourselves. So, again, there is an organic union, this time between the Spirit and life. There’s no sense of reward or earning here, it’s just natural that dwelling in Christ and He in us will bear good fruit.
A man indeed reaps what he sows. But this is not the law of ‘just deserts’, this is the truth of undeserved mercy. Stop sowing to the way of Adam, the way of flesh, the way of boasting, the way of performance, the way of law. That life is over for you. Only corruption can be reaped there. Instead, allow the Spirit draw you into the unshakeable love of the Father and Son:
God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (Galatians 4:6)
This is the truth of our position – filled with the Spirit, united to the Son, calling on the Father. Receive that sure reality by faith and you are sowing on very fertile ground.
Travel through the Bible, phrase by phrase, with this daily devotional from the King’s English.
The first quarter takes in Genesis to Ruth – “In the beginning” to “Shelter under his wings.” Each day there is a suggested reading and then thoughts from Glen Scrivener.
Day by day you’ll be drawn to the centre of the Scriptures – the Lord Jesus. These are not daily pep-talks aimed at the will. They are daily doses of the grace of Christ to warm your heart and establish you in the truths of the gospel.
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What is beyond the pale? What behaviour or what belief is out of bounds? How does a group or individual prove themselves to be completely unacceptable?
In this context we might say that so and so or such and such is “anathema.”
It might be as trivial as the way a Mac user considers PCs. It might be as serious as the way a pacifist considers torture. But they will label these things “anathema.”
It’s an untranslated Greek word and literally it means ‘something that is placed or set up.’ In some circumstances it means a gift – perhaps a sacrificial offering. But in other contexts it means something set apart as cursed. That’s the meaning it has for us today.
So what do you consider to be “anathema”? What would you guess is the King James Bible’s one great “anathema”?
Perhaps we immediately think of behaviours. Perhaps we immediately think of certain heretical doctrines? What is it that the Bible rules out of court so emphatically?
Well look at how the Apostle Paul uses the term:
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema. Maranatha. (1 Corinthians 16:22)
Here are two untranslated words – “Anathema” is Greek, “Maranatha” is Aramaic (it means “Come O Lord”). Between them we see the depths and the heights of his feelings regarding Christ. Paul can think of no greater blasphemy than a loveless heart towards Jesus. And he can think of no greater comfort than the second coming of this Lord who he loves.
When the Lord Jesus does come again, there will be one issue which faces the world. None of our many sins will be held against us (2 Corinthians 5:19). We won’t be able to hide behind our goodness or our badness. It’s Christ Himself who confronts us and the only question will be “Do you have love for Him who has loved you so extravagantly?”
If we have no love for Jesus we are anathema! The universe was created by Jesus and for Jesus (Colossians 1:16). If we too are not for Jesus we are completely out of place. We are violating the very nature of reality. We are cutting against the grain of the cosmos. We do not belong. We are anathema. What place can there be at the Bridegroom’s feast for those who do not love the Bridegroom?
This is the one anathema of the King James Bible. (The Greek word is used elsewhere, but here is the only place the Authorised Version leaves it untranslated). Yet the great anathema does not regard bad behaviour or bad belief but a bad heart towards the Lord Jesus. This is the issue for that day when the Lord returns. But it’s also the issue for this day.
We can make life very complicated. Right now, dozens of priorities will be jostling for precedence in your heart. But Paul wants to simplify things for us. Before all else, look to Christ. Before you look to your deeds or your creeds, it’s the receiving of Christ Himself that matters. Know in your heart that Jesus has loved you and given Himself for you (Galatians 2:20). His posture towards you is arms-wide-open. Do you have love for the Lord Jesus Christ? Look to Him again, today and every day. It is the very stuff of life, now and forever.
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Difficult people, chronic illness, vocal opposition, disability, bureaucrats in your way – all sorts of long-term problems might be called “a thorn in your flesh.”
Ever since the curse was pronounced in Eden, thorns have tormented us:
“Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee.” (Genesis 3:17-18)
Notice that the thorns are “to thee.” Like razor wire pointed at man, the thorns are directed at us. They are designed to make life painful for us. The world is rigged for frustration and the thorns press into our flesh.
In particular, “thorns in your side” is an Old Testament euphemism for foreign enemies (e.g. Numbers 33:55; Judges 2:3). Israel sits among the surrounding nations like a lily among thorns (Song 2:2). True prophets of the LORD are not to be put off by the thorns that encompass them (Ezekiel 2:6), they must continue to hold out the word of the LORD. Unfortunately Israel does not heed those words. Israel itself starts being fruitless and begins to produce thorns (Isaiah 5:1-6). In the end thorns are good for nothing – they will be burned up (Isaiah 9:18; Hebrews 6:8). Yet in the ultimate act of redemption, Christ wears thorns as a crown in order to exhaust the curse in Himself. His resurrection future will be a time when thorns and briers are replaced by fruitful trees (Isaiah 55:13).
With this background we come to our phrase for today. Paul is writing 2 Corinthians 12. Here he continues his subversion of the boasting carried on by the false apostles. Where they boasted in their strength, Paul boasts in his weaknesses. Where they recount their fabulous spiritual experiences, Paul is remarkably circumspect about his own.
Yet he does allow himself one oblique reference, here in 2 Corinthians 12. Doubtless Paul refers to himself here, but he distances himself from the experience so much that he recounts it in the third person:
I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. 6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. (2 Corinthians 12:1-8)
Many have speculated about what this thorn might have been for Paul. Perhaps it was a physical infirmity, specifically his eyes (Galatians 4:13-15; cf. Numbers 33:55). Perhaps it was a person or particular sect (note how Scripture describes human enemies as ‘thorns in your side’ – Judges 2:3; Numbers 33:55). Perhaps it was a particularly strong and enduring spiritual attack (note how Paul calls it ‘the messenger of Satan.’) But whatever it was, Paul was not able to be free of it. In fact, no matter how he begged Jesus, Jesus would not remove it.
I wonder if our theology of suffering can handle that. Are we able to cope with the fact that, often, Jesus does not remove thorns which torment and buffet us?
Sometimes people quote Isaiah 53:5 – “with his stripes we are healed” – and they say ‘All healing was purchased at the cross, therefore all healing is available now, we just need to believe for it.’ But of course that is faulty theology. It is true that Christ’s cross and resurrection purchased all healing. It also purchased a deathless eternity. But we don’t enjoy that yet. And Jesus is not committed to prolonging the old world – the cursed creation, doomed in Adam. Jesus is committed to putting that to death and rising up a healed world on the other side of the grave.
Sometime Jesus may choose to heal as a token of that new creation life. But that’s not His ultimate commitment for this perishing age. Jesus will not remove all our suffering. And He will not continue to prolong our old lives in these Adamic bodies. Praise God for that! Our hope does not lie in mini-healings and mini-deliverances now. Our hope is not for a present papering-over-the-cracks. Our hope lies in cosmic resurrection when the thorns will be replaced by fir trees (Isaiah 55:13).
In the meantime thorns will buffet us. We should pray, as Paul does, for deliverance from them. Ask, seek and knock for such a healing . But no matter what Christ’s answer, here is the heart of His word to you today:
My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Anyone can bear a miracle to the world as evidence of Christ’s grace. Paul bears his suffering to the world. And this is the perfect display of Christ’s strength. When His grace sustains the sufferer, it is a remarkable show of divine power. Not the power that teleports us out of trouble, but the power that sustains us through it. Christ’s strength is a cross-shaped strength.
So Paul concludes…
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
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“He didn’t suffer fools gladly” reads the obituary… “Cantankerous old grouch” we imagine… Or at least I do. I might be wrong in the particulars, but that’s how I read the phrase in general.
No-one ever does suffer fools gladly. We are only told when someone definitely does not. And since, generally, no-one seems to have any patience for fools, the person who is said ‘not to suffer fools gladly’ must be very irritable indeed. We can imagine that, in this person’s company, it is the fools that do the suffering. And not gladly.
So perhaps we think that the Christian response is that we should suffer fools gladly. Perhaps this biblical phrase arose as an exhortation to bear with fools with infinite patience.
Well there is something very Christ-like in that practice. Jesus put up with a lot of folly – mainly from His nearest and dearest. We can think of Mark chapter 10 where He has just described the agony and sacrifice of the cross which is before Him (v32-34). Instantly James and John ask Him for glory – they want cabinet posts in the coming kingdom (v35-41). It is such a vulgar and stupid request, especially with the prediction of Golgotha still hanging in the air. If Jesus “didn’t suffer fools gladly” we would now get to see James and John put in their place.
But how does Jesus respond? He calls them all together and, with great patience, tells them again of His servant-hearted love (v42-45). That is to be their model. Not worldly power-grabs.
Jesus does suffer fools gladly. And through His glad-hearted patience He teaches fools that they might cease to be fools. How astonishing! Here is the one Man who does suffer fools gladly.
But that is not what the Bible exhorts us towards with the phrase “suffer fools gladly.” St Paul, who coined the term, does not put himself in the shoes of the patient sufferer. In this phrase, Paul is the fool.
In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul is concerned about the Corinthian church. They are putting up with (i.e. “suffering”) the ministry of false apostles (v13). Such false apostles expected generous payments while they boasted of their accomplishments and great giftings. On the other hand Paul expected nothing, nor did he boast about his own service or experiences. But in order to make his point, Paul decides that boasting is the order of the day. Therefore he will make his own boasts to the Corinthians, but they are nothing like the boasts of the false apostles:
18 Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also. 19 For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. 20 For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face.
There are fools that we should not suffer gladly. They are called false teachers. And we should not tolerate them. Yet Paul says that a curious thing has been happening in Corinth. They have suffered to have slave-drivers among them, bringing them into bondage through their false gospels. Paul is amazed. And so he seeks to shock them out of their complacency by subverting the boasts of the false apostles. He speaks as a fool (v21). In other words he uses the rhetoric of the foolish false teachers, but his message is very different:
22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? 30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. (2 Corinthians 11:22-30)
Paul’s boast is that he is vastly less prosperous, less healthy, less settled and less respectable than all the false teachers they have been entertaining! He boasts in his weakness because this is the mark of an authentic follower of Christ.
If Paul is forced into the foolish game of listing his resume, he will “glory of the things which concern [his] infirmities.” If the Corinthians suffer those proud fools – the false apostles, Paul hopes they will suffer him – a humble fool for Christ.
Today, if someone “doesn’t suffer fools gladly”, it’s usually because they consider themselves to be above the fools. Paul puts himself beneath the fools and begs for the sufferance of the “wise ones”!
In this way he resembles his Lord who could easily have cast away fools like us. Instead Jesus humbles Himself beneath our folly – subverting it with His own up-side-down glory. Jesus became a fool on the cross, and His weakness became His glory.
So the question is, Will we be impatient with the folly and weakness of the cross? Or will we suffer His kind of folly gladly?
We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:23-25)
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— The fat-cat who exploits every tax loop-hole imaginable…
— The hospital which lets pedantic box-ticking get in the way of patient-care…
— The cricketer whose legal ploy is nonetheless “not cricket” (New Zealanders know what I’m talking about)…
In all these cases we’d say they obeyed the letter of the law but not the spirit.
2 Corinthians 3 seems to be the origin of the phrase. But perhaps even earlier, Christ’s dealings with the Pharisees speak to this theme…
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. (Matthew 23:23)
6 [We are] ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. (2 Corinthians 3:6)
The letter sets out the expectations of the law. And we’re not meant to bemoan its requirements as petty. The law is glorious (v9-10). Yet its effect on we law-breakers is death.
Sometimes I will listen to a sermon that “lays down the law” and then overhear congregation members saying to the preacher “You really stepped on our toes this morning.”
The kind of Christian life preached here is one in which the law inconveniences. It may even wound or weigh down. Yet, fundamentally, I am left alive and kicking. And after my wounding I am resolved to grit my teeth and try harder. Thus I leave church feeling ‘challenged’, ‘rebuked’ and ‘determined to lift my game.’
Yet, according to the Bible, the purpose of the ‘letter’ is not to step on our toes. It is to kill! The old covenant was a “ministration of death” (v7). We don’t simply feel inconvenienced by the letter of the law. We are slain by the glorious law of life which uncovers and judges us. There is no realm of self-respect left by which we pull ourselves together and get back in the game. No, we are obliterated by the law – that is its purpose.
Therefore what is our hope? Well our hope can’t come from ourselves. And it can’t come from the law either. It’s interesting that Paul does not contrast the letter with the spirit of the law. Instead he contrasts it with the Spirit of the LORD (v16,17). That difference is vital.
Paul does not preach against literalistic fulfilment of the law only to endorse another kind of legalism! He doesn’t say “don’t get hung up on details, just obey the vibe.” No, we look away from the law to another Source of life. The Spirit we are to receive is the Spirit of Christ – He is the One who fulfils the law. And He brings life where the letter brought only death.
If you want deep and abiding change in the Christian life, don’t gaze at yourself. Don’t gaze at the law. Don’t even gaze at the spirit of the law. Gaze at Christ Himself.
We are not simply to be wounded by the law. Allow yourself to be slain by the letter. And allow the Spirit to direct you to the true Source of your Christian life: Jesus
We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
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When Monty Python’s Life of Brian came out 30 years ago it caused a tremendous stir.
Now there are definitely reasons to object to the film. But we should not object simply because the film makes fun of religious people. Jesus made fun of religious people. Constantly. (e.g. The Mote and the Beam or Straining at a gnat).
No the problem with the Life of Brian is not that it is a comedy. Its biggest problem is that it’s not a comedy. It is, finally, a complete tragedy. Its hero – Brian – is crucified and there is no rescue, no resurrection. Just a catchy song whistled from the cross…
Always look on the bright side of death,
just before you draw your terminal breath…
Life is quite absurd
And death’s the final word…
You’ll see it’s all a show,
keep ’em laughing as you go,
just remember that the last laugh is on you…
There’s the old saying: “Whoever laughs last, laughs loudest.” Well here’s the gospel according to Monty Python – death has the last laugh. And if that’s true, all comedy is black comedy. All humour is gallows humour. It’s about whistling through the graveyard to keep up your spirits. But life itself is not a comedy. Life is a tragedy and, if we can, we grab a few moments of joy while we await the inevitable.
Yet Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 has good news for us. Brian may have perished, but Christ rose again from the dead. And in the twinkling of an eye He will return to apply that resurrection power to the whole universe.
Which means that death does not have the last laugh. No, the Christian – even as they await their own certain death – can laugh at the grave.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55)
This is incredible cheek. Death has conquered every human who has ever lived. The grave swallows us all. We don’t have a hope in the world, and yet, here is the most audacious taunt. It’s like David against Goliath, gloating about a victory that seems impossible. How can Paul speak like this?
Well he continues:
The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:56-57)
The victory doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to Jesus. He has submitted to death, pushed on through the grave and out the other side into immortal life. He has drawn the sting of death and risen again as the Firstfruits of a bumper crop of resurrection. When we are united to Jesus we share in both His death and His risen life.
Yes we will enter death. But the sting is drawn by Christ. For us it will not be the curse of godforsakenness. For us it will be ‘falling asleep in Jesus.’ And death will not have the last word. It does not have the victory – Christ does.
We must ask ourselves – what story do we inhabit? Is this a tragedy where death laughs at us? Or do we live in a cosmic comedy where we laugh at death?
Incredibly it’s the latter. We don’t cower before death. We don’t make a few nervous jokes in the face of the inevitable. We can look death square in the eye and laugh at it. Life is a glorious and eternal comedy. And all’s well that ends well.
Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)
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Heaven is a world of love. So said Jonathan Edwards in a famous sermon by that title. His text was our verse for today:
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
It’s a trio that Paul uses often in his letters to describe the Christian life. Here he names the greatest of them. “Love” is what will characterize the world to come more than anything else. And so verse 13 brings this chapter full circle. Paul began by berating the Corinthians for their neglect of love. As we saw, they held up the ecstatic worshipper, the profound prophet and the stoic do-gooder, as their models of true spirituality. But Paul maintains that none of these mean anything without love.
He concludes by looking to the future and judging our present priorities in that light. If heaven is a world of love, how can we claim to be heavenly and yet loveless? And when we know that a heaven of love is coming, how can we spend our time investing in gifts and outwards performances?
As he says from verse 8:
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
Gifts are like a torchlight. A torchlight in the dark is useful. But at noon, blazing sunshine swallows up the torchlight. In the same way, we are heading towards something so glorious that it swallows up our paltry gifts. Even the most dazzling and impressive gift today will be utterly obsolete when Christ’s future comes to pass.
Can any of us imagine being face to face with Jesus and saying: Hey Jesus, watch me speak in tongues! Hey Jesus, let me tell you my wisdom! Hey Jesus, listen to me preach! No. We will shut our mouths. And we will gaze – face to face.
The life to come is a world of love. Allow Jonathan Edwards’ description to whet your appetite:
Love is always a sweet principle; and especially divine love. This, even on earth, is a spring of sweetness; but in heaven it shall become a stream, a river, an ocean! All shall stand about the God of glory, who is the great fountain of love, opening, as it were, their very souls to be filled with those effusions of love that are poured forth from His fullness, just as the flowers on the earth, in the bright and joyous days of spring, open their bosoms to the sun, to be filled with His light and warmth, and to flourish in beauty and fragrancy under His cheering rays.
…And thus they will love, and reign in love… and thus in the full sunlight of the throne, enraptured with joys that are forever increasing, and yet forever full, they shall live and reign with God and Christ forever and ever!” From “Heaven, A World of Love”
We have seen the future. And the future is love. Therefore let us not be dazzled by the torchlights of our paltry gifts and performances. Instead let us live in the sunshine. And let us pass it on.
At the end of the day only love counts.
