review

Alright, please open your Bible to 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and we're going to be looking today at verses 11 through 18. Good morning everybody. Now what I'd like to do today is really, we're going to read the passage first and We've been through this already.

We've studied it. We've looked at it in detail. In fact, if I remember this section now, about a year and three months ago is when we dealt with this. We really kind of dissected it apart in a lot of detail at that time. So let's look at it today maybe through a different pair of glasses. The text is the same, but our content we'll be looking at a little differently.

So verse 11. Maybe we should start with verse 7. I think it really sets the stage better for 11 through 18. In verse 7 it says, but we have this treasure, which really applies to the glory in verse 6, in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, not of us. Boy, we could spend a whole Sunday on that verse, couldn't we?

We're troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We're perplexed, but not in despair. persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you, We, having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed and therefore have I spoken. We also believe and therefore speak, knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to rebound to the glory of God.

For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal way to glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Amen.

So what I thought we'd do today is I've hopefully, by the power of the Spirit within, raised a few questions for us to use as a dialogue and discussion today. And we'll, when appropriate, kind of refer to the Scripture to kind of back up what some of the messages are here. But let's just start, and we're going to use this text really as an opportunity to pose some questions. What does always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake mean to you? All right, you want to give us an example? You can say no, bud. I trust that is no, okay? It says always, bud, right? Always delivered unto death. Oh, yeah, my four.

Okay, let's cancel the class this morning. I pulled this PowerPoint off chapter 13, actually. There's no 2 Corinthians 14, actually. So, all right. I beg your forgiveness. We are in chapter 4. Believe me, it's not. But I can assure you this, there's no handout today, so maybe you won't remember it. Back to the question. always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake.

I mean it's a phrase. It's got lots of concepts in there. But I think it brought up a relevant point. Some other thoughts about this. How does this play out in your daily lives? Always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake. For we who live, that means who live in the physical body, could mean live spiritually, too. This life is one in which we're always delivered unto death. Now, remember, who's this written to? Is this written to the world? No, it's written to the church, right? The church at Corinth.

So, is this a positional truth, then? Obviously, always delivered unto death. That means that, as Bud said, we're dead to self. the sin nature. But we have to reckon that to be true through faith. Right? This is always delivered, so this is a continuing thing. That's right. And why is it a continuing thing? If this is all positional, why is it continuing? Because our condition hangs behind, doesn't it?

But yet, you know, it's kind of like that story about the ship that's, you know, cast to sea in the United Kingdom and then headed towards America. And the captain is found guilty of a heinous crime on board. And so the judicial system on deck is allowing him to be tried for his crime and he's convicted. And he's put beneath bars underneath the deck. And he's no longer captain, but a new captain is appointed. But the execution will not take place till they reach the other shore. This captain continues to yell out orders from below the deck. And the question is, as members of the crew, are we to respond to the captain who's been removed, who remains vocal, but yet has no power beneath the deck? Or alternatively, are we going to respond to the new leadership?

So I like that example because it really exemplifies the fact that God sees us as separated from the power of the self. But we, in fact, still go about this process of always dying daily, right? Because that condition that we have doesn't change. In fact, some people would point out that the condition becomes more reality testing for what it really is as we grow in grace and truth, right? I don't know about you, if I think about when the identification truths became apparent to me years ago, that ultimately the flesh now smells more than it did at the time I was first cognizant of this truth, right? Our cells really bear nothing of worth. Nothing of worth. And this process of always being delivered unto death, for whose sake? How do you interpret that, for Jesus' sake? need anything more than what he already is? What's the message here?

Because, well, for the sake of the new man that is seen. Yeah, so the new man is seen in a good way. And therefore God is glorified. All right. Kind of wrapping up into the whole context of Corinthians and the glory of God. Okay, good. Because Christ is seen. Right, Jim, and in fact we're going to come to that in a second. That's really kind of the meat of this passage. In the middle of it is to rebound to the glory of God, and that's really what this is all about. So let's just look briefly at a couple of texts.

Margaret, why don't you read Romans 6.11 since you referred to it, and then Jim, could you look up Philippians 3.10-14 and read that for us, please? You know, I'm so glad this is true because, you know, If you think about it, the business of the Spirit in our lives is to continue to reveal our conditions to us. And that's a lot of grace. And the fact that God sees us in His Son, positioned securely in the risen Lord, means that if we dwell on our condition, we get really distracted from the truth.

So this being delivered daily unto the dead, this doesn't say daily, but we know in other sections of scripture that we carry our cross daily. It all relates to this process. Go ahead, honey. Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Okay, thanks. Jim, the Philippians passage?

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I have pressed on in order that I may lay hold of that which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Thank you.

Boy, that fits, really, because what Paul builds in there is the fact that this earthly existence is really one of trials and sufferings. And Hal labeled this section of Scripture, again, 2 Corinthians 4, not 14, God ordains trials and sufferings to reveal His glory. And that's the process here.

I mean, just A few weeks ago, I went through a deliverance unto death from the reality sense in that I had misinterpreted what somebody had said, and I made that public, and I was wrong. So I had to really offer a formal apology, not only in terms of the person I offended, but also to the audience that listened to my comment. I mean, that's delivered unto death.

I trust that God gets the glory for that, not me. But yet he empowered me and made it necessary for me to carry out that task. I take no credit for this. This is the working of the Spirit. So that's just an earthly example. And this happens, I think, just, I mean, that's a kind of bigger event where you kind of have to publicly embarrass yourself by something that you did that was wrong. And even though when I did it, it didn't sense it was wrong, but it really was in retrospect. But this going into the depths each and every day is really part of the growth process. Don't get despondent. People get depressed, get so wrapped up in their daily deliverance unto death, they don't see the other side of it. And what's the other side of it? Same verse. Verse 11.

So it says, for we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake. Why? That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So, the question I have for you today is what's this life of Jesus manifested in the mortal flesh look like?

Describe it. Let's just say I'm from a land where the gospel has never been preached and I'm an educated man and I come to a place where Christianity is more accepted and there are in fact people who claim to be believers and I say to Doris or to George or to Margaret or someone in this room, I say, well, what? You're talking about the Christ life. What does that look like? Can you describe that for me?

So that's the question I have to the class this morning. How would you describe what the life of Jesus manifested in our mortal flesh looks like? I think it's a reasonable question. Well, is it on Monday or Wednesday? You mean Sunday afternoon to Saturday night? Somebody want to take this on a little bit.

And by the way, there's not necessarily a right answer here. I just want you to share your thoughts about this, because I have pondered on this a lot. Fruit of the Spirit, of course. Those aspects of the Fruit of the Spirit. All right. Okay, I've been working on that Gene, how do you think I'm doing? You've been working on what? On all those fruits, right? And by the way, fruit is singular I think, you know, right? The fruit of the spirit is all these things are wrapped up in the fruit of the spirit. But I'm working on this, I don't think I'm doing so well, what's my problem? What's his life like? I think that's a good answer, Jane. The fruit of the Spirit is really an outward sign of what the inward life is all about.

How else would you describe this? dependence on him, but to this person coming from Madagascar, who doesn't know what Christianity is all about, he or she might not be satisfied with that answer. Well, you know, the spirit gets some of us to be great evangelizers, and they can go out and speak a lot. But for most of us, just how we live out our daily lives is what living Jesus in our lives is. Our neighbors, our co-workers, our children, our parents, and we can see Christ in us, hopefully, Sunday through Saturday.

That's true. But let me just respond to that by saying, I think I shared with the class a few weeks ago that When Margaret and I were on our way to Australia, I sat next to an Orthodox Jew who was returning to Sydney after a year at Yeshiva University in New York, and he felt like he was keeping the 613 laws. He did. That's what he told me.

So I guess the question is, if we look at the outward appearance, can we be confused sometimes by what the life of Christ really looks like? Let's look and see what Bynes says here. I found this very, very useful as I was thinking about today's sharing here is that this life is, and this is quotation from Vine's expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words, this life is not merely a principle of power and mobility. This is the zoe in the Greek, by the way. This is the Greek term for life. However, for it has moral associations which are inseparable from it, as of holiness and righteousness, death and sin life and holiness are frequently contrasted in the scriptures. Kind of interesting.

Maybe we could spend some time just looking at what Vine has to say about it. So, according to Vine then, the life goes beyond simply a principle of power and mobility. Do you even think of Zoe in terms of the life of Christ within, in the confines of power and mobility? Is that something you think about when you think of the Christ life?

Power? I mean, we often think of power incorrectly, but maybe it is a life of power. It's not power necessarily over, but beyond. It represents our positional truth. That's powerful, right? what power means. But in that sense, it's more of a spiritual, the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Lord to raise Christ from the dead. Alright. We have all of that power in our character as Jesus of Nazareth is His character. What else about power in terms of our day-to-day existence?

It's His glory revealed through us. Alright, but it's the power to overcome, is it not? mobility relates to the freedom. What kind of freedom do we have as believers? Christ said, you shall be free indeed. What's that freedom all about? Good. Okay, so in a sense, power and mobility do fit here, don't they, as we think about the truth of the New Testament Scripture. But look at this. It says it also has moral associations. which are really inseparable from holiness and righteousness, thinking back to the point you were making.

Our life does reflect holiness and righteousness and not from a self-righteous perspective. To God be the glory, right? How is that exemplified in the life of a believer that may be different from the self-righteous man? How about the Mormon? You know, you often look at the Mormon's life and he or she seems to walk in a holy manner, don't they? In a righteous manner? yet their truth is skewed. It's not based on who the Lord Jesus Christ is. Can we tell the difference? Should we recognize this in our own walks or the walk of our brothers and sisters? Either the questions are too tough or we have...

The Pharisees, you know, they appeared righteous. They had an appearance of righteousness, but inwardly they were what, raven-wolves? And so it seems that it has to do with more than seeing the fruit of it. By their fruit, you shall know them. That seems to get to the core of it.

And when the person is in a situation that's really tough, and their patient is not the normal thing, then people wonder, well, why is this person patient? in that situation are. And so that Christ can be revealed in ways like that, where they react or respond, through the Spirit you respond in love, whereas instead of reacting in the flesh, we think that the flesh is reacting. So it's not a normal reaction or response. I don't know if that's where you're going. Well, again, I'm saying that I don't have the final answer here. These are points of discussion this morning. I mean, I could respond to that, Jean.

This is not meant to be difficult, but you know, there are people that you know that are not in the Lord Jesus Christ who are very patient people. I mean, I know plenty of people that have a lot more patience than I do, and I'm supposed to be walking in grace and truth, right? I mean, so what's maybe God's...

I mean, I know He's got a lot of work to do here, but I mean, the issue is that we don't want to confuse outward appearances from inward lives. And boy, this earthly existence, I think sometimes we become, and I'm not being critical of your statement because I think the fruit of the spirit really is what the life should look like. But we're not fruit inspectors, are we? Because if we were looking at fruit, maybe the Mormon life would really have a lot of fruit connected to it and the way these individuals carry themselves. I don't know.

How about the Muslim? love and joy and peace and long suffering in his life. So how do you know the difference between the two? You know my late wife Sharon and I had the opportunity back in the early 80s to get to know a Muslim family and this man was named Syed Gardizi and he has returned, subsequently returned many years ago, 15 years ago to Pakistan which is where he's from and this is a man who is a serious Muslim And he really takes his faith seriously. And he had four children. And I think when he lived here, he had three at that point in time. And he and his wife, Mahmood, got to know Sharon and I fairly well. And we met them through the academic medical center where I work.

And subsequently, in fact, I got an email from Syed last night at 11 o'clock from Pakistan. And he informed me that he'd gotten our Christmas letter this year and was glad to have heard about our family. He had just retired from being the Minister of Health of the nation of Pakistan, which I mean, it's amazing to me that he kind of, from an earthly perspective, risen through the ranks. But he thanked the Almighty Allah because he knew we communicated. And he was serious about his faith. And he, I guess, must have sensed that Sharon and I, and now Margaret and I, are serious about our faith. But here we have a dialogue about the Almighty.

And here is a man whose life on the surface reflects a man of faith. But yet, this is not the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. But yet, from an earthly perspective, this is a holy man. So, what's this life of Jesus manifest in our mortal flesh look like?

And I'm going to maybe just leave that sit and have you ponder this as it goes on. Because we can try to describe it, but I don't think we're going to be perfectly capable of doing that. And I think the outward appearance is not the right answer here. That's part of it. And the fruit of the spirit gene, I think, is a very important part of it. But boy, we can get confused, because Syed Gardizi is a holy man in the way he carries himself and walks. He's humble, he's God-fearing, he just doesn't believe in the same...

But is it up to us to do that? No, but the question is... So I just want to make sure that we don't confuse just the outward appearance for what the real life really looks like. The real life is entirely one that's not based on anything we do. It's based on how we respond to the truth that God has given to us, right? But Bob, it's always going to reflect in the outward appearance.

It will reflect there, Hal, but I'm just saying if we use earthly yardsticks to measure... Looking at the other side of the coin, I keep going back to Romans, the first chapter, where God has revealed himself unto all men. Even to the unbelievers, the things of God are foolishness, but it's because of the Holy Spirit's working in their life that they see. So it kind of is his responsibility in that The unbeliever is going to see that because you responded to the working of the Holy Spirit.

It's the source, right? It's the source. It's the source on both sides, the believer and the unbeliever. Remember, what preceded this, we're delivered unto death. That the life of Christ may be seen in our mortal flesh. I think that's an act of faith that it's not of us, but of Him. And that life needs to show up for everything it's worth by our faith, right? That's a different life.

That's not working to meet some sort of standard or goal that the Muslim is under, the Mormon is under, or the Jew, the Orthodox Jew is under. This is a life that takes on its own character through daily and frequent death of the old man and the grace to move on in newness of life. What's interesting is that if you go back to Moses in delivering the Jews out from Pharaoh, he goes before Pharaoh and he performs these miracles and Pharaoh pulls over his magicians and they duplicate each of the first miracles. So now, here's power. from Moses, here's power, from Pharaoh's right-hand men, and they can do the same things. But then it goes on, and Moses performs some other miracles, and then the magicians and sorcerers and such are to say, their response is that these men are true from God.

Because now it gets to the point where they can't produce those miracles. And would it be true in an unbeliever's life who is trying to attain the love and the joy and the peace and long-suffering, that they would see, that they would come to a point and look at a believer and say, truly, this person is from God. Because they really can't produce the love that they see. And not from an earthly, miraculous sense, right?

Right. Just in terms of the life. Could we say that we're resting in the life of Jesus? Boy, I like that, Doug. There's no question. I mean, some people might be critical of the term rest because it means we have no responsibility. We do have a responsibility. What's our responsibility? Belief. Absolutely. Belief is always our responsibility.

Okay, good discussion. I think the purpose of this... Yeah, go ahead. The Lord Himself said when He gave the New Commandment about one another, He said that is how the world will see that we're His disciples. And what was that commandment, Steve? To love one another. As what?

I think you're correct, but then there's more to that. Exactly, and that is so critical, because I don't know about you, I don't have a love for a lot of my fellow believers. I mean, I'm absolutely serious about this because I don't feel bonded to them, they're kind of on a track that may be somewhat different, but my love for them that the Lord Jesus Christ has is an unequivocal love. And you know, it's kind of like the old phrase, and this has been criticized by people in our Bible study, but the old comment of, you don't have to like everybody, you just have to love them. And boy, yeah, that helps me get settled a lot. Because how my flesh and emotions feel about an individual has nothing to do with my Christian love for them. It's a whole different ballgame. Because that love is not of self. The love is of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And you know, Doug, that's the rest, is it not? Boy, the rest we can have to love people unequivocally in a power that is not of ourselves is something we can't work on. Right? I think that goes back to what Hal was saying. Eventually, the non-believer, from a worldly sense, they can show all this love and all this, you know, we're seeing it with Katrina, you know, all this outpouring of love. But how long does that love really go on? It goes on initially, from the world's perspective, they're able to do that. But the true love that continues going on, even after the event, is not of the world.

Let's go ahead. Margaret, good point. The reason we're going to go ahead is I think the rest of this passage and the truth of this passage is what's before us, and I want to make sure we get done with this before we go. I'm sorry, Steve? I didn't even see your itch, actually.

Just to add on, Christ fulfilled the law, and I think that We're kind of on the cusp of talking about so many different religions. Well, a lot of religions have this core belief in God, but they also have a system of laws that they set within their structures to achieve whatever religious position they can in God. I think part of this verse 11 is saying that the life of Christ may be manifested, and part of that is that he fulfilled the law. Therefore, if I rest in that, I'm not trying to accomplish the law on my own merit, but I'm resting in his work. Absolutely, Steve. Yeah, this is a very good point. There's no yardstick for us to measure up to. It's a belief in.

He is all that he said he was, the son of God, the son of man, and accomplishing all aspects of the law that was there. Why was the law a place to begin with? The law is holy, but the law was meant to convict, wasn't it, and condemn. Christ fulfilled it, so he met all the Jewish principles there.

Purposes of our trials, I think that, you know, let me just answer that one for us, and that's in verse 15. For all things are for your sakes that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many rebound to the glory of God. That's what this is all about. these trials and sufferings, these afflictions, all these things are there to bring glory to the Heavenly Father. Let's just turn to 1 Peter 5 for a second, look at 10 and 11, and then we'll move on to the last few questions that I have here this morning. Doris, you want to read that for us, please?

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that we have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Great, thanks. Notice the positional and the conditional truths there and all the grace that he pours out is for his glory. that ultimately, you know, we might have strength and be looked at as complete and be established in that truth. Wow. Just wonderful, wonderful stuff. Okay. Okay.

We're told that our new man is renewed day by day, back to 2 Corinthians 4. For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perishes, that's this death always being delivered unto death, even though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. How? How is a new man renewed day by day? That's important for us to understand, isn't it? I mean, if we're carried into death, that the life of Christ may be manifested in our mortal flesh, there must be a process of renewal, because what separates us from that truth?

I'd say that our new man is renewed day by day by resting in facts. Okay. An act of faith, Jim, in what he's revealed in terms of that rest in truth. Doug, back to the point you made. How else are we renewed day by day? Our families. Okay. Good. That's great. So, why...

Is this forgiveness something that is yet to be accomplished? No. Forgiveness is accomplished for everything we are about to do. So even if we had a day yesterday that we feel unworthy of our calling, we can wake up this morning with a new mercy and know who we forgive. And the people that live under legal systems, I wonder how they deal with things like this, right? They feel like they've fallen short and there may be kind of permanence to the fact they haven't done what God had called them to do, Allah, right? Well, I think even believers, you know, who are not secure in their salvation, they don't realize that they actually are forgiven for all those things, even the future. And so they keep, you know, when they mess up, like we all do, I mean, the old man is rampant in all of us.

They feel like they have to confess. And they don't realize it's not for God, it's for them. To bring them back into fellowship is wrong. God doesn't need their confession. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we haven't sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. That's part of this being delivered unto death, is it not? for us to recognize our sin, confess it, and then we're immediately renewed. And what about this process of renewal? What do you think of next? In other words, we renew our fellowship with the truth that God is about in terms of our day-to-day existence, but what then happens? What's kind of the ongoing process of this?

And I'm kind of thinking about a verse or two here that might speak to this. Let's look at 2 Corinthians 3, 17 and 18, the chapter right before. And we've covered this in our review over the last month or two. Now the Lord is that spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. And in a sense, that liberty is this life of freedom from sin. It's the liberty to rest by trust. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as an emir of the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord." So, you know, when we renew our fellowship with Him on a daily basis because of the condition that we live in, ultimately this ultimate revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ in our life becomes more apparent.

Not to us, I think, but those who see that great grace worked out. And remember, we discussed in chapter 13 in some detail about what examining your life looks like. And I think the spirit's in the business of examining our life on a day-to-day basis. But I think that ultimately, here as we grow into His grace and His likeness, ultimately that's something that we ourselves maybe aren't to perceive. I mean, in other words, this is a rest, it's a comfort, it's a life that starts showing up increasingly. in a way that's only by His great grace and love.

To simply renew fellowship and not realize the foundation that we stand on and reflect in our daily life is missing the boat some. Yeah, we may have our fellowship back, but we've got to get in His face, right? We've got to behold the Lord Jesus. The truth of Colossians 3, 1-3 and many other passages.

Delivered unto death risen with Him in newness of life, and that life is sourced from above. I have a note there on glory. I think it's plain to the benefit of essence. It's an essence? It's the essence of the Lord. That, in a sense, is the life, too, is it not? Yeah. It helps me to understand. Next question I have for you. We just have two questions left now. Describe your light affliction. or afflictions. Anybody want to describe one or two? Trying to get him to go to the potty. Jim, I got great news for you here.

The grace is sufficient for even this, right? You know, if you think of the term for affliction, this is really nothing subtle. The Greek really implies, and we discussed this when we taught this a year ago, is that affliction is something that's really pressing together. This is not something minor. But Paul's calling it light. I mean, light affliction is like an oxymoron. You know what we mean by an oxymoron? It's something that is internally conflicting. Light affliction is is kind of like a hot ice cube. I mean, in a sense, that's what it means. But isn't it beautiful?

Because if we think of our day-to-day trials, no matter how pressing, no matter how complicating, no matter how circumstantial in terms of the potential outcome, if we look at that as light, that's walking in the newness of life. Just think about that. Think about some of the things you're going through right now in your lives. Consider those as light, no matter how serious they are. And what allows you to do that? And how, just in context, what term does Paul use to describe the light affliction? Look at your Bible, 2 Corinthians 4, 17. For our live affliction, which...

But for a moment. I don't know about you. Marilyn, do your afflictions just seem like they last for a moment? A moment. What do you think about a moment? Well, we've got just a few moments left together this morning, right? Henry's going to be on the potty before we're done here, getting the job done here, right? Rachel will look back and have a light of affliction when he becomes a teenager. You just wait.

So Paul says that, you know, keep in mind a moment is contrasted to eternity, right? And in a sense that's a transition into this next question I have for you. What do you think of when Paul states exceeding and eternal? I mean, he says that this light affliction, by the way, is just for a moment.

It may seem like it lasts weeks to months to years sometimes for us. But it works in us a far more exceeding and eternal way to glory. We've got five minutes to finish up. Okay, exceeding and eternal way to glory. Let me just transition down, we can kind of combine this.

Ponder on, as verse 18 indicates, not seen and eternal. While we look not at the things which are seen, does that mean we ignore these afflictions? No. We don't ignore them, but when we put them into context, we look at their circumstances as playing out as those that are not seen, but the benefit of these afflictions are the things that are not seen. Everything that we see and get wrapped up in terms of the contemporary nature of the affliction are things that are temporal. But the things that are not seen are eternal. So as we think about this, what do you think about when we're told that what's important are the things that are not seen and eternal?

What comes to mind? Okay, let's turn to Romans 8. Now remember Romans 8 follows Romans 6 and 7. That's a profound statement, isn't it? So don't ponder that one too long. That's not the idea of pondering here that I had in mind. Romans 8.14-18, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Boy, what a great truth that is. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.

And if children and heirs and heirs of God join heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer this light affliction with him, that we may also be glorified together, again the great truth of God's glory being seen through the afflictions, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." And that glory may be revealed in part here now, but boy, eternally.

God's principles are eternal, which means there's no beginning and end. The eternity is a sphere in which God has unto himself that we don't relate to in these earthly circumstances at all. And God's measuring our response to these afflictions with eternal consequences or eternal attributes. Now when we think about the things not seen and eternal, what has to come to mind is that God's measurement is not in any way anything we can begin to understand.

And I think In closing, let's just turn to John 17, 1 through 3, and then we'll end with 1 John 5, 20. Christ and his great prayer before his crucifixion, I think, really reflects on God's eternity, as by the way, much of Scripture does in related ways. The Lord Jesus said, these words spoke Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come.

Glorify thy son. And why? That thy son also may glorify thee. Keep in mind, as we're connected to the Lord Jesus Christ, this whole process of where the glory goes is not to us, but to the heavenly father through his son. Verse two, and thou has given him power over all flesh. that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. Christ is talking about us here. And this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God in Jesus Christ whom thou hast seen. So when we ponder on not seeing an eternal, we're pondering things of an entirely different nature, an entirely different sphere. The rules are different. The glory is really of a different land, of a different planet, not ours here now, but his in eternity.

And 1 John 5.20, I think, is a nice kind of sum up of what we've just been discussing in terms of eternity.

Interesting use of the verb know in the Greek, and we know, remember know is epinosis, Gnosis in a third definition, it really means a factual knowledge. That's what it is here. And we know as if we know that Colorado Boulevard is east of University Avenue. We know that the red light means stop and the green light go.

And we know factually that the Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding that we may know him And that's Gnoska, by the way. That's a different no. I know him personally, that this is true. And we are in him that is true, even in his son, Jesus Christ.

This is the true God and eternal life. Notice the equating of the true God to eternal life. And I think that's something that the Mormon and the Muslim and the other face of the world don't even begin to comprehend, because they look at this as something they themselves are accomplishing. Whereas in our lives, as the life of the Lord Jesus Christ is manifest, we realize that it's all in His power, and it's just by our faith in this truth that ultimately this comes to bear. Any final thoughts here on this section of Scripture? This is a great, great, great passage.

Think of your afflictions as light, but for a moment. And then the rest will really truly come by his great grace. Let's close in prayer. Father, we're thankful for your word that is so, so uplifting. And it really allows us to see the truth of our daily existence and how these things that occur here, but for a moment, that through these trials and tribulations and sufferings, that only your glory is what matters. And that glory is seen so perfectly as we accept rest and believe that your word is true. We thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ in whom we rest and trust. Amen.