Skip to content Walking by Faith, Not by Sight: 2 Corinthians 5-6 Oct 14 · 14 min ...more
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Support this leader
Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Give
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
93.9K followers
Family Research Council is serving in the kingdom of God by championing faith, family, & freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
93.9K followers
Eternal Perspective and Reconciliation 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Today, we are looking at second Corinthians chapter 5 and 6, 2 powerful chapters. Verse 17 of chapter 5. Therefore,0:21 if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. That's a promise that you can0:33 stand on this morning as a follower of Jesus Christ if he is your lord and savior. In chapter Paul in chapter 5, Paul continues his discussion of the eternal versus the temporal. He0:45 talks about the power of reconciliation. Then in chapter 6, he returns to a defense of his ministry as he also calls out the Corinthians for their carnality, which is really at the heart of their problem. So let's begin0:56 verse 1 chapter 5. For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. Now this is 1 of the reasons1:08 Paul was able to be sustained in the difficulties that he faced, the very threats to his life, the stonings, the beatings, because he knew if if this temporal body came to an1:20 end, he had something much greater, eternal. Look at verse 4. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, meaning we don't wanna die,1:31 but further clothed. That mortality may be swallowed up by life. From here, we go from life unto life. Now he who has prepared us for this very thing is god who has1:43 given us the spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We1:55 don't see God right now. We don't see him. We're walking by faith. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body to be present with the lord. Now this is quite profound.2:07 The this earthly house that he's referring to as our body, he likens it to a tent or a tabernacle, but it will be replaced with an eternal house. Alright? Tent versus house.2:19 He says, I'm not focused or concerned about this ragged, flapping tent whose seams are leaking. He says, god's gonna take care of that. And how do we know? How do we know that god's gonna2:31 replace this temporal body, this tent with a eternal home? He's given us his holy spirit as a down payment. Just like you buy a house, you put down a down payment, earnest money that you're going to follow through on it.2:43 It is a guarantee that he will fulfill his promise. Paul had this eternal perspective. The end of life is not the end. In fact, it's the beginning of something2:55 much better. In our culture today, even in the church, there's this obsession with holding on to life, and we saw it so clearly during COVID. And there was this fear of dying, and and it was in the3:07 church as well. And this allows the media and the government to manipulate because when we live in fear, we can be manipulated. And we see this at the, you know, this effort to hide or to3:19 give our tents a makeover. Now don't misunderstand me. I think we should take care of our bodies. I think we should eat healthy. I think we should exercise, because we only have 13:30 body. But, our attachment our attachment should not be on this temporal tent, but rather our eternal home. Now3:42 does this mean that we despise this life? No. Look what what Paul writes to the Philippians over in Philippians chapter 1 verse 21. He says, for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But3:54 if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor. Yet what I shall choose, I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between the 2, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far4:06 better. Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. Bottom line is what Paul writes in verse 9 of, second Corinthians chapter 5. Therefore, we make it our aim whether present or absent to4:18 be well pleasing to him. Whether here or there, Paul says, I live for the glory of god. It's all about him. Verse 10, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each 14:30 may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Now this is the Bema seat of judgment. Believers, followers of Christ will be judged in a review of their works4:42 for the purposes of rewards. This is not a judgment of salvation. For those who accepted Jesus Christ, that was finished at the cross. For, verse 14, for the love of Christ compels us4:53 because we judged us that if 1 died for all, then all died. And he died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and5:05 rose again. Alright. Our love for Christ should constrain us from anything that would be displeasing to him because we died in5:17 Christ so that we may live to please him. That's our sole purpose now, that we belong to him. He bought us. He purchased us with his blood. Therefore, from now5:28 on, we regard no 1 according to the flesh, even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer. Now this is very insightful. Alright? Our knowledge and under5:40 and understanding is to go beyond the temporal that we see with our eyes. The apostles, they saw Jesus as a temporal political messiah at5:52 first, but then they understood that he was the king of creation, the everlasting 1, the savior of the world. Likewise, we should see others in light of the eternal kingdom of God.6:04 Look at verse 17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. That is a great truth to stand on. When you turn6:16 your life over to Jesus and you accept him as your savior, your past is past. You are a new creation. You get a new start as you enter the kingdom of6:27 God. Verse 18. Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is that God was6:39 in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespass is to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for6:51 Christ as though God were pleading through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For he made him who knew no sin7:03 to be sin for us, that we might become righteousness of God in him. Now recall from chapter 1 that god comforts us so that we can comfort7:15 others. Remember? Well, here, Paul says, we've been reconciled to god so that we can have a ministry of reconciliation. What does that mean? It means god has restored us7:27 into a relationship with him so that we can go and tell others the exciting news about how they too can be restored into a relationship with their creator, how they can become7:38 a child of god, adopted into the family of god. Now this is an important point here because we hear this often. You know, we are all created by God. God creates7:50 every 1 of us. We have the image of God, the thumbprint of God upon our lives. We're image bearers of God, but we're not all children of God. We become his children through adoption8:02 when we are reconciled to him through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We hear this. We're all God's children. No. We're not. We're not. Not until we accept the the redemptive work of Jesus8:14 Christ. Alright. Chapter 6 verse 1. We then, as workers together with him, also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, in an acceptable time, I have heard you, and in the8:26 day of salvation, I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Don't play around with the grace of God. Don't think you can wait until next week or next month or even8:37 tomorrow because it may never come. You know, as a police officer, I I witnessed people who are on this earth going about their business, probably thinking about tomorrow. But in most cases, I doubt they were thinking8:49 about eternity. And within minutes, in some cases, even less, they were no longer here. They were in eternity. And I can recall the very first homicide that I worked. I remember9:01 standing there with the deceased individual thinking, where was he now in eternity? Was he in heaven? Was he in hell? That same question would run9:13 through my mind with each subsequent crime scene or death that I encountered. Today is the day of salvation. Where will you be in eternity? Verses 4 through 10 are9:25 somewhat of a repeat of what we've read before validating Paul's ministry, but I wanna read it because it also reveals that life in the kingdom of God is a path of contrast and paradoxes. Verse verse9:37 4 chapter 6, but in all things, we commend ourselves as ministers of God in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness,9:48 in fastings, by purity, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the holy spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by9:59 honor and dishonor, by evil reports and good reports, as deceivers and yet true, as unknown and yet well known, as dying and behold we live, as chastened and yet not10:11 killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things. Pretty powerful stuff. Alright. He10:23 wraps up here talking about the the Corinthians, their carnal behavior that was taking place. It prompted the first letter, and and he continues to address that. Their their carnal behavior was the result of their10:35 carnal thinking, and their carnal thinking in large part was the result of them being attached to the carnal community. Look at verse 14. Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has10:46 righteousness with lawlessness, And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Bilal? And what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with10:58 idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from among them and be11:09 separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. Now Jesus said that we are not to be in we're we're not we're we're in the world but not of the world. Alright?11:21 He he he did not take us out when we're saved. He left us in the world. But we're to be sanctified, meaning set apart by his word, by truth. And11:33 this is often as unequally yoked, often referred to as as marriage, and it does apply to marriage, but it, it it applies to other binding relationships like business. We should not be joined to that,11:45 to those individuals in intimate binding relationships who do not know god. Because what fellowship has light with darkness? There's going to be conflict. And generally speaking,11:58 when we're in those environments, it pulls us down. We don't pull others up. So we need to be set apart, not taken out of the world. He's left us here to be a testimony to the truth, to be12:10 light into the darkness. But we have to be in fellowship with God, not the world. Father, we thank you for your word and, again, the practical teaching of Paul as12:22 he was teaching the the Corinthians on how to to live out their faith in a very carnal and compromised world. Well, father, we we face the same circumstances12:34 today. May we be sanctified by your word. Your word is truth. And and I pray that you would guide us today and you would lead us. And I do pray, Lord, that if there are any12:46 that may have come along this study that have not accepted you as their lord and savior, that behold, today is the day of salvation. May they turn their life over to you, and may they make12:57 Jesus Christ the lord of their life, confessing their sins and turning from the world and from their sins and turning to Christ in the cross. For we pray and ask this in Jesus' name.13:09 Amen. Alright. Thanks so much for joining me. And by the way, if if that is you and you, you wanna make that decision to follow-up the lord Jesus Christ, email me, tony at tony perkins dot com, and we'll get in13:21 touch with you and help you get connected with a church so that you can walk in fellowship with God and become that new creation that he has made you. Alright. Until next time,13:33 keep standing on the word.13:37 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:49 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Eternal Perspective and Reconciliation
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.