Understanding Paul’s Vision of the Third Heaven

Posted on by korgrocker

“This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.”
2 Corinthians 12:1-4 NLT

What an incredible vision Paul must have had. He spared us the details, but such a vision of the place we call Heaven obviously made a profound impact on his life. Paul was a very humble man, and it did not come easily to him to brag or boast about anything. In fact, regarding verse 2 of our passage today, other translations refer to “a man in Christ” other than Paul himself, so keen was he not to promote himself. The NIV reads, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows”. Paul seemed fully committed to not receiving any personal credit for this experience. He emphasised that only God knows whether he physically travelled to the third heaven in his body or whether it was an out-of-body experience. 

But what is the “third Heaven”? The general thought amongst the scholars is that the first heaven is the sky above our heads, the second is where the celestial bodies, such as the sun, moon, and stars reside, and the third Heaven is where we find God and His angels. Another school of thought holds that the first heaven is the sky above us, together with all the celestial bodies, galaxies, and so on that are visible, and the third Heaven is God’s domain, the Paradise that Jesus promised to the penitent thief. But the second heaven is the place where the devil and his demonic angels have their base, and from which the world we know is impacted by his evil ways. But whatever, Paul had a wonderful experience in the Third Heaven, and it was something that he could boast about.

Why was Paul forced to boast at all? Perhaps it was because the “super-apostles”, the leaders who seemed to have muscled into leadership roles within the Corinthian church, and who were perhaps bragging about their supernatural experiences, were criticising Paul, calling him something of a lightweight apostle not worthy of the name. But whatever was happening, Paul had to elevate himself out of his comfort zone and share his experience. 

Paul said this happened fourteen years previously. Why did this happen at all? Because I think we can agree, it is not a normal experience to be able to pay a visit to heaven and return to tell the tale. Perhaps God, knowing that Paul had missed out on all the teaching the twelve apostles had received during their time spent with Jesus, gave him a crash course to bring him up to speed. Or perhaps it was just an occasion that empowered him for the rest of his life, providing him with an extraordinary ministry so fruitful in establishing churches and making converts. Paul didn’t know if this was a physical or spiritual experience, but it was real to him, whatever.

Paul said that he heard “things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words”. We can only speculate about what these things were because Paul wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about them. Perhaps it was similar to John’s revelation, as we read in Revelation 10:4, “When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Keep secret what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down””. What the words Paul and John heard we cannot even try to understand, but one day we will hear them, I’m sure. But one thing we know for sure, Paul told us about in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, “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! 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”. 

We pilgrims march ever onward, through a life strewn with boulders and other obstacles, all designed to trip us up and divert us away from the path that leads to the Place where we too will hear “things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words”. Sometimes we think we cannot wait, but then we realise that we are here on this earth at just this time for a purpose: to be Christ’s ambassadors amongst the people in our sad and dying world. We are the only ones able to communicate Jesus’ message of hope, and we cannot shirk our responsibilities.

Father God. Please lead us to encounters that will enable us to share Your Good News. The words of eternal life You gave us are too precious to keep to ourselves. Amen. 

Suffering for a Little While

Posted on by korgrocker

“If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.”
2 Corinthians 11:30-33 NLT

An extraordinary tale from Paul, having to escape from the civil authorities in that way, but it provides yet another indication of how difficult it was in those days to be a Christian and preach the Gospel. If any believer has any doubts today about their faith, they must consider what others have gone through to protect it. If the story of Jesus, His ministry, His trial, death, burial, and subsequent resurrection is disbelieved by our fellow Christians, then perhaps the people involved should think about how many people have suffered so much to protect their faith in God. Lies never prevail over truth.

Are Christians generally weak, as Paul said he was? Surely that can’t be true, because we read verses such as “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). We also have Psalm 18:29, “In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall”. And another favourite of mine, Isaiah 40:29-31, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint”. Reading the verses, we can perhaps discover that, through God, we are, in fact, invincible and even indestructible. But we pause, and on reflection understand that all these things are in God’s strength, not in our own. Humans are frail beings, and ever since Jesus walked the highways and byways of Palestine, Christians have suffered greatly for their faith, their strength in God failing to materialise into a physical and human strength able to overcome the beatings, stonings, torture and other abuse that have been their lot under hostile and misguided regimes. And such is still the case today in some parts of the world. 

Christians take the long view because the time spent in this world is infinitesimally short compared to an eternity spent in God’s company. A different spirit was present when Peter and John were punished for speaking about Jesus. They were arrested to stand trial before the Sanhedrin, and we read their punishment in Acts 5:40-41, “The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go. The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus”. Because Jesus suffered so much, Peter and John rejoiced that they too were suffering, and all because they could see what was coming their way. Perhaps they remembered what Jesus had said to them right back at the beginning, “But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues” (Matthew 10:17). Later in the same discourse, Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). However, in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Paul wrote, “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! 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”. The early Apostles, in all their distress, stayed the course because they knew what was coming one day soon.

We pilgrims here in the West have little to fear from the authorities for our faith. We will not receive a beating for sharing our faith, well, not yet anyway. But we will suffer more subtle forms of abuse, through being ostracised, or marginalised, in our society that only favours those who do not challenge the sin and evil that prevail. But as Paul said, what we suffer now is of no consequence from the perspective of eternity. We have a loving Heavenly Father who one day will call us home.

Dear Father God. Thank You for all that You have done for us and will continue to do until the day of glory that will come before we know it. Thank You for Jesus, who has made it all possible. Amen.

The Dangers in Living for Christ

Posted on by korgrocker

“I’m ashamed to say that we’ve been too “weak” to do that! But whatever they dare to boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I dare to boast about it, too. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have travelled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.”
2 Corinthians 11:21-27 NLT

A longer passage of Scripture than usual today, but it has been difficult to consider in anything other than its whole. The first-century world to the east of the Mediterranean and associated lands was fiercely resistant to the preaching of the Gospel, even to the point that Paul and the rest of the Apostles suffered much for its message. The original Apostles, with the exception of John, all suffered violent deaths at the hands of their enemies, but while alive, they willingly put up with the privations and abuse that came their way. Why? Because they considered it all worthwhile because of their love for Jesus. In modern parlance, what Paul suffered came with the territory.

In a way, Paul’s suffering confirms the authenticity of the Gospel. Here is a quote from Charles Colson, a lawyer caught up, and eventually imprisoned, for his role in the Watergate scandal, although he subsequently became a Christian. “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world, and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible”. 

What do we pilgrims think when we read our verses from 2 Corinthians today? Personally, it strengthens my faith because I know that although Paul suffered much, he did so for Jesus. So why should I complain if living for Jesus denies me the pleasures of the world around me and becomes inconvenient at times? I have never suffered for Christ as Paul did. Would I be willing to? It is a difficult question to answer, but I believe God would give me the grace and fortitude should that be needed, but I pray that I won’t have to.

Jesus is all to me. There is no one else in my life who could replace Him. There is no worldly possession that is more important. And I’m sure that this is the case for those reading this today. Jesus said, “…  ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind’” (Matthew 22:37). Paul was a living example of another of Jesus’ sayings, “Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it” (Luke 9:23-24). And finally, from Paul, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him” (Romans 12:1). Paul was a man who “walked the walk and talked the talk”. There was no hypocrisy with Paul, and there shouldn’t be with us either.

Dear Heavenly Father. We thank You for Your servant Paul and his willingness to suffer for spreading the Gospel. It may have even been instrumental in my faith today. Thank You for Your grace and love, and all that You have done for us. Amen.

Understanding God’s Commendation: Our True Worth

Posted on by korgrocker

“Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended. Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working. Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else’s territory. As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.”
2 Corinthians 10:15-18 NLT

What does God think about us, and whatever it is, how do we know? Paul wrote that it is no good “commend[ing] ourselves” because “it doesn’t count for much”. “The important thing is for the Lord to commend [us]”, he wrote. But the question is still there: if the Lord is commending us, how would we know, and what is He commending us for? 

The Bible is full of encouraging verses answering this question, such as Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”. The picture behind this verse portrays our Master Creator God seeing us and our lives through the corridor of time and planning out our lives of service to Him. He could see if we would marry and who the spouse would be. He could see our giftings and how they would be used in our jobs or in our leisure. He would even have known about the church we would attend, the date of our decision to believe in Jesus and so on. The picture continues with our lives being created just as He intended. But the fact emerges that even though God created everyone in the miracle of birth, He could also see many who would reject Him, and it must have broken His heart. Through His grace, He ordained the creation and provided the opportunities for created beings full of potential yet riven by sin, and He loved them all. God’s plans for human beings continue today, as new births are announced all the time. But for us pilgrims, each one of us is “God’s masterpiece”; can we boast about this? 

Another verse worthy of note is Ephesians 8:38, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love”. God loves us and He always will, because nothing can ever come between us. In all our thoughts and deeds, in our lives, in what we do and don’t do, His love and grace is always there for us, unstoppable, unmovable, and inviolable. But for us pilgrims, each one of us loved by God, can we boast about this? 

We have a hope for the future. Jeremiah 9:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”. The plans God has for us are not just limited to our school years or perhaps our employment. His plans apply to the whole of our lives and, here’s the thing, our lives in eternity. God created us body, soul and spirit, and we know that when we pilgrims come to the end of our physical lives, our spirits will live on forever. Beyond the grave, God will still continue to love us and have good things for us to do. Heaven won’t be a time of drudgery and boredom. It will be a place where our spirits will experience “good things” beyond our wildest dreams. But for us pilgrims, each one of us loved by God, can we boast about this? 

We pilgrims have much to thank God for, if we stop to think about it, even for a moment. God has commended us, and we are always before Him, in His thoughts. Isaiah 49:16a, “See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands …”. God also considers us precious, as His own eyes. Psalm 17:8, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings”. These verses must surely cause us to rush out and stop every passerby, telling them of what we mean to God, and what He thinks of us. We surely must shout it out from every rooftop so that the world knows and understands the way in which the Lord has commended us. There is a line in the hymn “Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven” which reads, “ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven”. That’s who we are. The world out there will not consider this anything to boast about, but we surely do.

Father God. We praise and worship You today, secure in the knowledge that You love us and care for us, each and every day of our lives and beyond in the place where we will be with You. Thank You. Amen.

Understanding Spiritual Authority in Christianity

Posted on by korgrocker

“I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. For some say, ‘His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.’ Such people should realise that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.”
2 Corinthians 10:9-11 NIVUK

In Corinth, it appears that some leaders had emerged who were preaching a different Gospel, one at variance with what Paul had taught the church there. Perhaps there was some confusion in these leaders’ minds concerning God’s grace, something that emerged when Paul wrote to the Romans, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase?” (Romans 6:1). But the same leaders were trying to exclude Paul as far as possible, and were undermining his letters and teaching in the process. So they were spreading the thought that Paul wrote “weighty and forceful” letters, but when he was with them in person, he was “unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing”. A personal attack that perhaps revealed the immaturity and wrong motives of his critics. However, Paul was the Apostle who established the Corinthian church, and he felt personally responsible for their spiritual well-being. 

In a way, we pilgrims today are very grateful that these issues have ended up recorded in Paul’s letters, because they have shaped the theology of our faith. Today, the same issues have emerged, exposing problems with spiritual authority within some denominations. This was different in Paul’s day, when the Christian faith was new and dependent on the Apostles for its authenticity and theological accuracy. Today, we have the Bible, but issues still come to light because sometimes a difference of opinion emerges among church leaders, with human and sinful factors creeping in, and, as a result, a church divides. As I have said before, in the city where I live, 14 churches were established in the 18th and 19th centuries, most of them Presbyterian by persuasion. Church splits sometimes come when a charismatic leader attracts a group of followers and moves away with them to a new location. Sometimes this is necessary, when the original leadership were unable to reconcile different beliefs and interpretations of the Bible. One example of this is between the liberal and traditional wings of one denomination I can think of. 

But spiritual authority is something that all believers must settle in their own minds. Far too often, a believer will follow a leader rather than follow Jesus, because it is sometimes easier that way. They don’t have to think about the rights and wrongs, the nuances and emphases, that emerge from the pulpit and instead rely on someone else to work all that out. That is fine when the leader is a sincere man or woman of integrity, well-versed in the Scriptures and preaching the truth of the Gospel. But what happens when he or she moves on to heed another call somewhere else? Do they leave behind a congregation of dependent people who fall apart and end up with a shipwrecked faith? And then we think of sects such as the JW’s and see how error can creep in and result in the people following a different god than the God of the Bible. 

Spiritual authority always starts with Jesus. We read in Matthew 28:18, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”. James wrote, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. …” (James 4:7a). Our church leaders are themselves under God’s authority and are accountable to Him for what they preach and teach. Hebrews 13:17, “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you”. In Luke 10, we read about the time when Jesus sent out 72 disciples, their authority in spiritual matters delegated to them by Jesus. He said, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (Luke 10:19). 

For us pilgrims everywhere, there is good advice in the first two verses of Hebrews 12, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne”. We fix our eyes on Jesus, because anywhere else will lead to disappointment and disillusionment. Yes, God will appoint men like Paul, or our church leaders, to help us along in our journey of faith, but ultimately we must look upwards to our Heavenly Champion, because there is no other Source of spiritual authority worth considering.

Dear Heavenly Father. We look to You this morning as the Source of all we need to live the Christian life. Thank You for Your grace and guidance. Amen.

Understanding God’s Generous Grace in Our Lives

Posted on by korgrocker

“You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have.”
2 Corinthians 8:9-11 NLT

Grace – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense – is at the very heart of why we pilgrims are Christians. And as Paul rightly wrote, the grace became flesh through the person of Jesus Christ. He left the richness of Heaven to become poor for the sake of anyone who believed in Him and who responded positively to His message of grace. We didn’t deserve such favour from our Creator and holy God. We had done nothing of ourselves to warrant it. Rather, our unholiness was a stench in God’s nostrils, and we could have no complaint if there was no future for us in His presence. And yet, “He became poor, so that by his poverty He could make [us] rich”. And rich we are. Paul wrote, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). There are no spiritual blessings that are unavailable to us, and we have a treasure trove that we can draw on now and in the future. In Philippians 4:19, Paul wrote, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus”. I’m sure all of us pilgrims can testify that, so far, we have had a life where God has supplied all our needs (not “wants”, by the way). Jesus said to the church in Ephesus, “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! …” (Revelation 2:9a). In all these cases, however, we need to beware of associating richness with worldly wealth. The richness in Christ is priceless, and He said, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:26). We need to remember that hell is a depository for rubbish, just as the valley next to Jerusalem, called Gehenna, was. Jesus often associated hell with this rubbish dump “where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out”  (Mark 9:48). It is a place where those who decide not to benefit from the free gift of God’s grace will spend eternity. Jesus was horrified by the thought of hell, and His life was dedicated to supplying an unlimited fountain of grace to provide sinners with a Godly alternative.

“let your good deeds
shine out for all to see“

We pilgrims are the children of grace, because through all that Jesus did for us at Calvary, we can now stand righteous before our Heavenly Father. We call Him “Abba”, which, translated, means “Daddy”. The only way any of us can enter into a relationship with God is because of His grace toward us. Ephesians 2:8, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God”. But we can’t leave it there. We hold that message of grace and have the opportunity to take it to those we know and meet. That does not just mean providing tracts to anyone we meet, but it also means we are dispensers of “salt and light” wherever we go. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:13-16). In my walks around the West of Fife, I occasionally meet people who are scared and fearful, without hope or vision for their lives. One elderly man I recently met confessed that he was glad that he did not have many more years in this life to endure the worry of the wars that blight our planet and the political decisions made by our government. A lady walking her dogs talked in a similar way, using it as an excuse for not becoming a believer, because, as she claimed, how could God allow all the suffering in this world to happen? We pilgrims have the words of Jesus, which we can use to counter the lies of the devil. But to know these words, we have to be diligent in reading what He said. When He was tempted in the wilderness, Jesus used Scriptures to refute the devil’s invitations. And so can we, when faced with arguments from people who have no knowledge of who God really is.

As Paul wrote, we pilgrims “know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Let us today look for opportunities to share that with others through our attitudes, our generosity, our kindness, and our love for those not as fortunate as we are. And if the opportunity arises, we can share our testimonies of what God has done for us.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your “generous grace”, made so available to Your children and the people around us. Help us, we pray, to find the time to reach out to the needy and share all that You have done for us. In Your precious name, Amen. 

Understanding Loyalty in the Christian Faith

Posted on by korgrocker

“My purpose, then, was not to write about who did the wrong or who was wronged. I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how loyal you are to us. We have been greatly encouraged by this. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was about the way all of you welcomed him and set his mind at ease.”
2 Corinthians 7:12-13 NLT

After Paul’s first letter, there would have needed to be loyalty on the part of the believers in Corinth, if they were going to take on board what he had written. It is true to say that some issues can only be addressed when there is a relational bridge between people, and in the issues Paul raised in his first letter, some form of loyalty had to be established. Otherwise, the believers would have just rejected what Paul wrote. Loyalty is a word that has fallen into much disrepute in British society because of the many different people groups present. A definition of “Britishness” has become confused because recent research suggests it can mean several things, depending on geography, ethnicity, human rights, respect for the law, and so on. So loyalty to the nation of Britain has become a thing of the past, at least to the extent that my parents, who came through the war years, would have understood. Our nationalities or origins are occasionally requested on NHS or government forms, and there is usually a long list of options, which perhaps pushes people away from “British” towards more fragmented societal and loyalty options.

But here in Paul’s second letter, the issue is simpler: the loyalty of the Corinthian believers to the Apostle, Paul, who established the church there in the first place. And Paul wrote, “We have been greatly encouraged by this”. Perhaps, when Paul put the final full stop on his first letter and sealed it for dispatch, he must have experienced mental gyrations, wondering whether he had been too hard or too soft in his comments and advice. Wondering if the Corinthians would reject what he had said and, in the process, reject him as well. Those early church days were fraught with so many attacks and issues, and Paul confessed, “Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28). He hinted at his anguish in Galatians 4:19-20, when he wrote, “Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labour pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance, I don’t know how else to help you”. And that was Paul’s dilemma. In an age without denominational structures to address grievances, well-trained ministers, the Canon of Scripture, and internet-enabled instant communication, problems could fester for far too long. And that is without even mentioning the plethora of false teaching and prophecies, such as Gnosticism and Docetism and others, all conspiring to draw the early believers into error and back into the clutches of the devil. 

As we read the Bible, we find that loyalty is a virtue that involves steadfast commitment to God, family, friends, and responsibilities. It is often synonymous with “faithfulness” and is considered a reflection of God’s own unchanging character. First and foremost, there is loyalty to God. Deuteronomy 6:5,  “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength”. Any believer, not just a new one, who is unable to sign up to that needs to reflect on their salvation. Jesus also taught, in relation to the subject of money, that “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money” (Matthew 6:24). Jesus went further in His letter to the church in Smyrna, when He said, “Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). How many of us would stay the course if we were staring death in the face because of our faith? 

“You have the words that give eternal life“

Regarding friendships, the Bible also offers some advice on loyalty. Proverbs 17:17, “A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need”. We have the poignant scene in Ruth where we read, “But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God” (Ruth 1:16). Ruth was only related to her mother-in-law by marriage, and yet she promised to remain loyal come what may. As we read the rest of the Book of Ruth, we find that her faithfulness resulted in her becoming an important part of Jesus’ bloodline, even getting a mention in Matthew 1:5b, “ … Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). … ”, something unusual for a woman in those days. Peter and the disciples were very loyal to Jesus. When the teaching Jesus was delivering became too hard for some of the more peripheral disciples, resulting in them leaving him, we read, “Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God”” (John 6:67-69). As we know, Peter and the rest of the disciples (with the exception of John) all died violent deaths through their loyalty to their Master and Lord. 

What about our loyalty, fellow pilgrims? Are we loyal to our families and friends? And above all, are we loyal to God? The Christian life is a journey along a narrow and difficult path, but there is no option to occasionally rest for a while “on the broad way that leads to destruction”. When the journey gets tough, we dig even deeper into the resources God has made available to us, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). 

Dear Heavenly Father, we pledge our loyalty to You today, in the assurance that You have a plan reserved for us in Heaven. We thank You for Jesus and all He did for us, and continues to do for us, in every day of our lives. Amen.

The Source of True Comfort in Christian Life

Posted on by korgrocker

“For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn – conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.”
2 Corinthians 7:5-7 NIVUK

Three mentions of the word “comfort” in our verses today. Paul had already shared about being harassed and conflicted, with “fears within”, and he was obviously feeling pretty depressed about it all. Sometimes we look at a spiritual giant like Paul and think that they will never suffer the troubles in life that we do. Reading Paul’s letters He seems to have such a grasp of the Christian life, even establishing much of today’s theology, that we forget he was human like everyone else and needed comfort. 

Elijah was another one. In the middle of a drought, and after the Mount Carmel event where God sent fire to consume the sacrifice and Elijah “slaughtered” the 450 prophets of Baal, we read about the drought coming to an end. But Elijah then ran into the wilderness after a threat from a woman. We read, “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors’” (1 Kings 19:3-4). How could that have happened? But we read on to find that Elijah was fed by “the angel of the Lord” before his long 40-day journey to “Horeb, the mountain of God”. It was there that God restored him, giving him the comfort that he needed.

Then we have Peter, devastated and depressed after denying Jesus three times. In Luke 22:61-62, and after Peter’s third denial, we read, “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the cock crows today, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.” What followed was that poignant conversation with Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, after a breakfast of barbecued fish. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him, one time for each of Peter’s denials, and He gave Peter the comfort and assurance to put him back on track in his mission. 

We tend to think that the men of God like Paul, Peter and Elijah were somehow supermen in the faith, far too holy to suffer from the kinds of troubles we do. We also sometimes think the same of our pastors and other church leaders, somehow putting them on pedestals set apart from ordinary folk like us. But nothing could be further from the truth. We, too, need comfort from time to time, and we enjoy our needs being met by those loved ones closest to us, but unfortunately, there are many lonely people in our societies who lack family or friends and instead suffer in silence, lacking the comfort that all human beings need. Paul wrote that he was comforted “by the coming of Titus”, his needs being met in his hour of need.

“He comforts us in all our troubles“

The Bible bulges with verses and passages about comfort. And they all major on the one fact that God is the source of the comfort we need. He cares for us in all circumstances. Psalm 23 is a good place to start if anyone needs to be comforted today. Read it and re-read it if necessary, and in the process, we feel the comfort of God flooding over us. We get to verse 4 and read, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me”. The rod and staff were the shepherd’s tools to encourage and direct the sheep before him, and as we look to our loving Heavenly Father, we will find the same willingness to keep us on the right paths, no matter what we are going through.

Of course, from our position of being comforted, we can comfort others. We read in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us”. I envisage a merry-go-round, with each believer encouraging and comforting another, while God pours His love and grace into the mix, bringing comfort to all. This is what living the wonderful Christian life is all about. So who do we know who needs comforting today?

In my walks, I often meet people who are totally devoid of the comfort they need. Depression and loneliness abound. Worry and anxiety are endemic emotions. People without God lack hope and vision for the future. But we pilgrims have a Source of comfort, and sometimes we have the opportunity to bring just a glimmer of that comfort into the lives of those we meet, wherever that is. We must never neglect an opportunity to share the “words of eternal life” that God has so graciously given us.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your comfort and grace. Through Jesus, we have come into a favoured place, where we find Heaven on earth. Please help us to bring comfort to others whenever we can. Amen.

Pursuing Holiness: Cleansing for Spiritual Growth

Posted on by korgrocker

“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.”
2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT

The Christian life is not only about receiving God’s promises, but it is also about responding to them. In this verse, the apostle Paul calls us pilgrims to a life of intentional purity and spiritual growth. Because of what God has promised us, we are encouraged to actively pursue holiness in our daily lives. But what are “these promises” that Paul referred to in today’s verse? In the closing verses of the previous chapter, Paul quoted his paraphrase of two Old Testament scriptures, “ … I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. … And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty”. (2 Corinthians 6:16b, 18). These promises remind us that believers are not distant from God because we are His people, His children, and His dwelling place. When we truly grasp that reality, it changes how we live. Our motivation for holiness is not legalism but relationship.

Paul continues, “let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit.” Paul wasn’t suggesting that we pilgrims wash more often or change our soap. This was a call for us to cleanse our inner beings, the spirits within us. It’s obvious, really, because how can the Holy Spirit, who is pure and holy, live inside a sinful human being? Sin can affect both the body and the spirit. Some sins contaminate our actions, while others slowly shape our thoughts, desires, and motivations. Paul encourages believers to deal with both. This cleansing is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing process of repentance, confession, and renewal as we walk with God. The Psalmist David wrote, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). In the Biblical context, our hearts are our inner beings, our spirits. David also wrote, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24). We will need God’s help because, as Jeremiah wrote, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9). 

So with God’s help, we move on to the next part of 2 Corinthians 17:1, “And let us work toward complete holiness”. Is this ever achievable? Are we pilgrims believing something to which we can never attain, in this life anyway? The Christian life involves spiritual growth. We are saved by grace, but we are also called to grow, to develop our characters to become more like Jesus. Paul wrote, “ … continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12c). The life of a believer starts at the point of salvation. But it doesn’t stop there, because we go through a period in the rest of our lives that we call sanctification, the act of being saved. But there will come that wonderful day when we experience glorification. And what a wonderful day that will be! The holiness that Paul wrote about simply means being set apart for God. It is reflected in our choices, speech, attitudes, and priorities. As we grow spiritually, we become more like Christ. Peter wrote, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). 

Paul concludes by reminding believers that this pursuit of holiness flows from a “fear of God.” This fear is not terror but deep reverence, respect, and awe for who God is. When we truly understand God’s holiness and love, we desire to honour Him with our lives. In Proverbs 19:23, we read, “The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble”. Imagine preparing our homes for a very important guest. We would likely tidy up, clean the rooms, and remove anything that shouldn’t be there. We would want the house to be ready. To the church in Laodicea, Jesus wrote, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20). Jesus could turn up at any time and knock at the doors of our hearts. Are we ready?

Dear Heavenly Father. You don’t want us to remain in a life of sin, our hearts corrupted and unsuitable for You to live in. Please help us to get our houses in order, ready for the day when You call us home. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Understanding Our Identity as God’s Temple

Posted on by korgrocker

And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 
Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. 
And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty”.
2 Corinthians 6:16-18 NLT

Paul’s knowledge of the Bible was extraordinary. Here, at the end of 2 Corinthians 6, he quoted three Old Testament verses in succession, all focused on the relationship that believers have with their Heavenly Father. The first was from Leviticus 26:12, “I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people”. The second was taken from Isaiah 52:11, “Get out! Get out and leave your captivity, where everything you touch is unclean. Get out of there and purify yourselves, you who carry home the sacred objects of the Lord”. And the last was taken from 2 Samuel 7:14, “I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do”. It is interesting that Paul’s quotations were not word perfect by a long way, but allowance has to be made for the translations from one language to another, and the context in which they were quoted. How many of us have a memory like Paul’s?

We remember that, in the context in which Paul was writing, these verses referred to believers as God’s Temple, and this will have a significant impact on their relationship with God. Think about it for a moment. God lives within us. He walks with us as we go about our daily lives. He is there in our thoughts, and He feels our pain when we hurt. Being God’s Temple is all about our relationship with our Heavenly Father. 

But in all of that, there is one thing that must prevail, and that is that being in a relationship with God means that other relationships must be discarded. These verses that Paul quoted paint a picture of separation from the things of the world, things incompatible with God and His Kingdom. We live in the world, but we do not belong to its values, its idols, or its compromises. When Paul speaks of not touching “their filthy things,” he is calling believers away from the spiritual contamination of idolatry, moral compromise, and divided loyalty. Jesus said, “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do” (John 17:15-16). In some ways, it is preferable to be taken out of this world because it is hard to live here as a Christian sometimes. But God has given us a job to do on His behalf, and in the process, He provides the opportunity for us to grow in the faith and become more like Jesus. This life is a training ground for the life to come.

Paul wrote, “I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty”. Look at the tender welcome in God’s statement. His love and grace are palpably present and are a promise for all those who come to Him. Separation from the world, from sin and evil, is no loss when we realise it opens the door to a deep relationship with the Creator of the Universe. In Romans 8:15, Paul wrote, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father””. The relationship we have with God is so intimate that we can call Him “Daddy” (Abba is the Aramaic word for Daddy). 

“Now we call him, “Abba, Father“”

If we truly grasp that we are God’s temple, we guard what we allow into our hearts. Our “eye gates” can be a problem so we need to be careful about what we watch on TV or in the cinema. Similarly, we carefully examine what influences shape us. These days, news reports and social media posts can be an evil and disruptive factor in our thoughts and decisions. Because we love God, we pursue living a life of separation from worldliness, conscious of how debilitating that can be to our spiritual lives. And through all that we do, we are conscious that God Himself walks with us. Let’s pause for a moment and focus our thoughts. The Lord Almighty—the sovereign, all-powerful God—chooses to dwell in and with His people and call them His sons and daughters. What greater privilege could there be? We pilgrims are truly a blessed people.

Dear loving Heavenly Father, thank You that You dwell within us by Your Spirit. Help us to live as Your holy temple. Give us courage to separate from anything that dishonours You, and draw us deeper into the joy of being Your sons and daughters. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.