John 1:1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and [b]the Word was God Himself. 2 He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. (AMP)
[a] In John the Apostle’s vision (Rev 19), he sees Christ returning as Warrior-Messiah-King, and “...His name is called The Word of God...and LORD OF LORDS.” (Rev 19:13, 16).
[b] In this phrase, “God” appears first in the Greek word order, emphasizing the fact that “the Word” (Christ) was God—so “God Himself.”
Acts 17:28 For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of [a]your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ (AMP)
[a] Paul was probably exposed to Greek literature when he studied with Gamaliel, and quoting or paraphrasing a line from one of their poets would have surprised and kept the attention of the audience.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give us the Light of the knowledge of the glory and majesty of God [clearly revealed] in the face of Christ.
Second Corinthians is a valuable guide in examining our own motives for serving the Lord, whether as lay people or as ordained pastors and evangelists. As an instrument of the Holy Spirit, this letter can refine our motives until we reflect the kind of selfless giving best exemplified in Christ, but also found in His servant Paul. The instructions concerning the collection for Jerusalem (chs. 8 and 9) emphasize generosity in the area of financial resources, just as Paul emphasized generosity in self-giving throughout the book.
Jesus Christ is the focus of our relationship with God. All God’s promises to us are Yes in Jesus, and we say “Amen” to God’s promises in Jesus (1:19, 20). Jesus is God’s Yes to us and our Yes to God. Only in Christ do we see the glory of God, and only in Him are we transformed by that glory (3:14, 18), for Christ is the very image of God (4:4–6). God came to us in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself (5:19). Thus, it is “in Christ” that we have become new creatures (5:17). This change was accomplished through the marvelous act of God’s grace in which Christ, “who knew no sin,” became “sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (5:21).
Jesus is also the focus of our service to God. We proclaim Jesus as Lord and ourselves as servants for His sake (4:5). We willingly share not only Christ’s life and glory but also His dying (4:10–12), His willingness to be weak so that others might experience the power of God (13:3, 4, 9), and His willingness to be impoverished so that others might be enriched (8:9). We experience His weakness but also His strength as we seek to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (10:5).
Again, Jesus is the focus of our present life in this world, where we simultaneously experience in our mortal bodies both “the dying of the Lord Jesus” and His life (4:10, 11).Finally, Jesus is the focus of our future life, for we will be raised up with Jesus (4:14), who is the “betrothed. . .husband” of the church (11:2) and the judge of all men (5:10).
The Holy Spirit is the power of the New Covenant (3:6), because He makes real to us the present and future provisions of our salvation in Christ. By the gift of “the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee,” we are assured that all God’s promises are Yes in Christ, and that we are anointed and “sealed” as belonging to Him (1:20–22). The present experience of the Spirit is specifically “a guarantee” of the glorified bodies we will one day receive (5:1–5).
We do not merely read about the will of God in the “letter” of Scripture, for “the letter [alone] kills.” The Spirit who gives life (3:6) changes our way of living by opening our eyes to the living reality of what we read. Thus, we progressively experience and embody the will of God, and we ourselves become epistles of Christ, “known and read by all men” (3:2).
When we submit ourselves to the work of the Spirit, we experience a miracle. We find that “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (3:17). There is liberty to behold the unveiled glory of the Lord and to be changed more and more into the likeness of what we behold. The Holy Spirit gives us freedom to see and freedom to be what God wants us to be (3:16–18).
The work of the Holy Spirit is evident in daily inward renewal (4:16), spiritual warfare (10:3–5), and the “signs and wonders and mighty deeds” of Paul’s ministry in Corinth (12:12). Paul ended his letter with a blessing, which included “the communion [fellowship] of the Holy Spirit” (13:14). This could indicate a sense of the Spirit’s presence or, more likely, an enjoyment of the fellowship the Spirit gives us with Christ and with all people who love Christ.
PRAYER: Heavenly, Loving Father, Thank You for sending Jesus, the Word, Who was with the Father before the world began. He came to earth willingly, in human flesh, so that a sinner such as I may be redeemed by His precious blood. The more I reflect on the truth of Your Word the more amazed I become at Your love for me. Thank You that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us so that by faith in Him we might be made the righteousness of God in Him to Whom be all praise and glory.
Thank You, Father, for the Light You have given me, in the face of Jesus, my Saviour and Lord. It is only through His sufficient sacrifice that I have been so blessed, for without the shining Light of the Spirit of Christ within, I would continue to wallow in the darkness of the world. May the light of Your truth, love, and compassion, shine in me, and reflect from me the glories of Jesus, so that Your name may be glorified in all I say and do. I worship and praise Your holy name for Your wonderful plan of salvation. Praise Your name and praise Jesus, in Whose name I pray, AMEN.
