Here’s a Good Question: Why Did Moses’s Skin Glow?

Why Did Moses’s Skin Glow?

Exodus 34:29-35 (Read it!) Compare 2^nd Corinthians 3:7-18

“⁷But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his ⁸How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?

⁹For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

¹⁰For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. ¹¹For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

¹²Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: ¹³And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:

¹⁴But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. ¹⁵But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. ¹⁶Nevertheless when it (their heart) shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

¹⁷Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

¹⁸But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Introduction:

There are some strange things in the Bible…mysterious at first glance, and sometimes still mysterious, no matter how we study, trying to understand.

For instance, it is difficult when we try to understand the triune nature of God. The Bible teaches that He eternally exists in three separate persons. Each of the three is individually (and co-equally with the other two), God. And yet, together, they are literally One God…not three. We hear Jesus say that the Father is greater than all. 1^st Corinthians 15:24-28 says , after the Great White Throne Judgment, Jesus will hand over to His Father the Eternal Kingdom. But…Isaiah 9:6 says that one of the Son‘s names is “the Everlasting Father!“

Sorry! That one remains mysterious!

Others turn out to be pretty simple. We easily discovered the reason David took precisely five stones from the brook when he went to face Goliath. The Giant had four brothers! That is still mind-boggling! To David, (if God is on your side) in order to fight five Giants, you only need five rocks!

**But, Why did Moses’s Face Glow, or Shine?**

So, why did Moses’s face shine or glow, when he returned from talking with God in Person? Is this an exaggeration? We sometimes say that certain people seem to “glow with good health, or with happiness.” That is not the same.

Moses was shining in a way that terrified the people, so that they were afraid to be near him. So, was he radioactive, or, in some way exuding dangerous radiation? If that were it, then veiling his face would not diminish the danger, but only mask it. All we know is that Moses was physically glowing and he did not know it. And, once he knew the problem, he understood why the people feared his presence. He hung a cloth over his face to hide the glow.

What was the source of the Light? Did he develop some sort of bioluminescence? Like a glow-worm, or a firefly? No! It was not a natural phenomenon at all! The simple and mysterious truth? He had been with Jesus.

The Apostles Glowed in a Different Way

In Acts 4:13, 14, we see a hint of how that works today. “¹³Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”

Philippians 2:15, 16 says that we are to shine as lights in a dark world, and offer the Word of Life. That is what the Apostles were doing. They were shining, and offering the Word of Life!

They had “been with Jesus” before the Holy Spirit came. Exactly the same amount of time as in Acts chapter 4. But they had not been shining…they were hiding! If we are not walking with Jesus: If we are not allowing the Holy Spirit to shine through us, then we are not shining, either.

We look like pretty dim bulbs, because we are afraid to cheerfully shine the Glory of God in our lives and words. Or, perhaps we have become discouraged, and don’t feel that we can shine.

But Jesus commanded us to allow our light to shine in such a way that other people see the change in our lives, and can glorify God because of what they see.

Matthew 5:14-16

¹⁴Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. ¹⁶Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

In John 8:12, speaking of Himself, He said, “I am the light of the World: He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.” Why did Jesus say that we are the light of the world?

I hope you are starting to see a possible answer.

Where Does the Light Originate?

If we go all the way back to Genesis 1:3, we see that God Himself was the original source of light. John 1:4 tells a similar story, saying “In Him (the Word…Jesus) was life and the life was the light of Men.”

If we see God as the ultimate source of light in the world (all light, physical and spiritual: moral and intellectual) then the whole question begins to become clear.

Moses had been in the immediate physical presence of the ultimate source of light. God had temporarily “charged” Moses with, or filled him with, that light. He continued to radiate it after he had left the immediate presence of God.

The Apostles had been in the physical and relational presence of the Living Word, Jesus, the True Light of the World, for more than three years. The moral and intellectual light of His Person shone through them. It astonished the adversaries, and shut their mouths. All they could do is recognize that the Apostles “had been with Jesus.”

What is the Result of the Light?

Jesus told His disciples, in the Sermon on the Mount, that they were the light of the world. Like a city set upon a hill, they were not to be a hidden value. The light should be visible. And the light that came from God through them would be a witness to the world around them: It would shine and bring glory to God, regardless of people’s individual responses to the Light.

Remember the story about the lantern in the barn: J. Vernon McGee told how as a child, he carried a lantern into the dark barn, as he went to feed the livestock. When he entered the door, two things happened: The rats, scavenging for food on the barn floor, scattered, hiding from the light. The birds, roosting in the rafters mistook the light for sunrise and they began to sing. The same light brought two utterly different responses. Both responses testify to the light!

What About Israel?

Paul says they saw the light and they hid from it. Moses had to put on a veil, so that they would not see the glory of God, even though it was fading. And Paul goes on to say that the same veil is there today, when they read the Old Testament. They are judicially blind to the light of God. Remember that the veil in the temple was torn in two and it opens the way for us all. They have not taken advantage of that open door, as a nation and as a people. Romans 11:25 confirms this, saying that blindness has come upon Israel in part, until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in.

2^nd Corinthians 3:14-17 says, ¹⁴But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. ¹⁵But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. ¹⁶Nevertheless when it (their heart) shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. ¹⁷Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

So, when the nation of Israel turns its collective heart back to God, the veil will be taken away, and they will be free at last.

What About Us?

How do we fit into this picture? To begin with, we also seek to be the disciples of Jesus. So, his teaching regarding how the disciples were to live would be applicable to us as well. Philippians 2:15, 16 confirms that connection. (Not everything directed to the original disciples is directed to us…Passages like Philippians help us to see which ones are directed to us, and not just to the original disciples.)

He definitely calls us to shine in the World. And we can see that the source of the light has to be Jesus, the Living Word of God. We can also see that the people in the Bible whom everyone saw as “having been with Jesus” were those who had “been with Jesus.”

Moses had been with Jesus! The Apostles had been with Jesus. Stephen, being stoned to death, was shining, and everyone could see it: He not only had been walking with Jesus and speaking for Jesus…He could see Jesus standing to receive him! And they killed him!

**But, What about Us?**

If we are not deliberately seeking the Presence of the Living God in the Person of the Risen Christ, and meditating on the Written Word as we seek to know the Living Word, then we cannot expect to see His Light Permeating our lives.

Years ago, we talked about how, in the wintertime, the headlamps on our vehicles often become spattered with road grime until their light is very dim. We have a difficult time seeing the road. Others may find it difficult to clearly see us, at night. Why is this happening? The electric “fire” inside those lamps has not failed. But, through neglect, or by simple rough use, and severe conditions, the lenses have become so muddy that the light cannot shine through.

Why might we fail to shine?

Our lives are similar in some respects. We need to consistently be watchful, and aware of when we fail to follow, and fail to shine. God calls us to confess our sins, so that He can cleanse us and we can once again shine for Jesus.

The Holy Spirit; God indwelling us, has not changed. His Holiness and Love and Light are still shining, eternally unchanged. But we have allowed the World and our own fleshly fears and follies to dirty, darken, discourage, and dim us until that light is hard to see. We can hardly see it ourselves, let alone others seeing Him in us.

So, here is our hope: 1^st John 3:2

“²Beloved, now are we the sons (“Children:” Greek word is “tekna,” meaning “offspring”) of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

Folks…I truly want to be like Jesus, but until I see Him face to face, it isn’t going to fully happen. All I can do in this life is to keep focused on the little that I do see of Him, shining through His Word, and in the lives of Godly people around me. The more consistently I seek His face, the more consistently others will have to conclude, “He has been with Jesus!”

Lord Jesus, please grip our hearts with the urgency of Your call to Discipleship. Help us to daily seek Your Face, and be transformed into Your likeness, Shining with Your Light.

May 30, 2026May 30, 2026

In What Way are We Servants of the New Testament?

We are Servants of the New Testament

2nd Corinthians 2:14-3:6

¹⁴Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

¹⁵For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: ¹⁶To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

Introduction:

We have often seen Paul presenting himself as a servant of the gospel. Romans 1:1 says “I am consecrated unto the Gospel of God.” Now, we might interpret this passage also, as Paul explaining the life of the apostles.

However, if we consider the parallel passages, where he also says we are Ambassadors of Christ (2^nd Corinthians 5:20.) In the Great Commission itself, Jesus commanded the apostles to make disciples in all nations. Furthermore, it said, teach those disciples to do everything Jesus assigned to the Apostles. Then we have to slow down and consider, “How much of this applies to me directly?”

**Does God Cause Us to Triumph in Christ?**

Against Satan:

Where is the battle? Who is the enemy? Against whom do we put on the whole armor of God, so as to withstand the attacks of the Enemy? Satan is a defeated enemy, but he still attacks us: and God gives us victory.

Against the World:

When God calls us to “overcome the World,” what does He mean? Where do we find the answer to that question? 1^st John 5:4, 5 says it means you have placed your faith in Jesus, as the Son of God. If you have trusted in His blood as full payment for your sins, then YOU have overcome the World!

Against the Flesh:

Is there more? Yes, of course there is! He calls us to walk with Him and to allow Him to increase our faith. He wants to increase our strength and stability in Him. (We can’t lose! God says nothing in the universe can separate you from His love! Romans 8:38, 39)

As we walk with Him, we find that we are also victorious over our old sin nature. We can’t get rid of it entirely, but God says we can continually set it aside. As believers, we can submit our new nature to the holiness of God. We can’t eradicate our old nature in this life, but we can starve it, and have daily victory. Galatians 5:16 promises that IF we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the Flesh.

So, yes! God does cause us to triumph in Christ!

**What Is The Result Of That Spiritual Triumph?**

He says that, due to that triumph, God causes us to “Smell like Jesus,” for better or worse. To those who are responsive to God’s call, we smell like eternal life. To those who habitually reject Him, we smell like judgment, and death.

We do not cause that aroma. God causes the fragrance of Christ as the result of His Grace manifested itself in our lives. Look at 2:14 again: He says God causes us to triumph, and God makes known the savour (aroma, or fragrance) of His knowledge by us in every place.

But, since that is the standard, if we see that we are not “smelling like Jesus” then the lack is in our response to Him. God does not fail, but we frequently fail to cooperate with His Grace. So, to the question, “Who is sufficient for these things?” we reply, “Only God!”

**What Does it Mean, to “Corrupt the Word of God?”**

The word translated as “corrupt” in verse 17 can also be translated as, “peddle,” or “make merchandise of.” When a band sells “merchandise” at a concert, it includes all sorts of “I was there” memorabilia. (Junk, really, but to those who want to advertise a favorite band, it may seem desirable.) And the band frequently makes more from the merchandise sales than they do the ticket sales.

There are preachers who are “in the ministry” for money, and they have an agenda to sell. They use God’s Word as merchandise, and they hope to gain great financial support from people who “like their message.” One problem with that approach is that they tend to modify the content to some degree, in an effort to make their message more popular. In doing so, they are corrupting God’s Word.

We have nothing to sell! We preach the Good News of Salvation through the Cross, but we also preach the bad news: “The necessity of the Cross: Why did Jesus have to die for us?”

Obviously, we cannot afford to “make God’s Word more palatable.” If we were to do so, we would be corrupting the Word, which Paul specifically warns against, here.

We choose to tell people the truth about Jesus: That He is God in the Flesh. That He hates sin just as much as ever, but He chose to become a man and to die in place of the entire Human Race. We teach that He calls us to place our trust in His completed Work, and to abandon our attempts to please Him with our own works. He asks us to allow Him to work through us. And He has given us a job, which He will accomplish through us, as we walk with Him by faith.

2^nd Corinthians Chapter 3

¹Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? ²Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:

³Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

⁴And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: ⁵Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; ⁶Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

**No Self-Commendation, and No Self Condemnation:**

Paul cautions the Corinthian believers to understand that he is not “commending himself:” He says if anyone wants a “letter of recommendation” regarding his work, they should read the lives of the people who have believed the Gospel and who are being set free from sin!

He says that the believers who have benefitted in one way or another by Paul’s teaching are the only letter of recommendation He can ask for. Either God has been working via the Gospel, and the message Paul has preached is sound teaching, or He has not, and Paul’s ministry is flawed.

God’s Word transforms lives! He works from the inside out, to renew our minds and to strengthen our walk with Him. Paul faithfully transmitted the true Gospel of Christ, and everywhere Paul went and shared the message of the Gospel, there was either a riot, a revival, or both! Why? Because he was telling the truth!

The message can be clearly read in the changed hearts and lives of the believers. No one has to go to a temple and read the commandments written in the stone. They can see the living Word of God shining in the changed lives of His saints.

Why is that happening? Because of the triumph we saw in chapter 2. God “has (past tense) made us able ministers (servants) of the New Testament…the New Covenant.”

What Gospel do We Preach?

We do not “preach the Law,” though it is Holy and unchanging: We preach the Righteousness of Christ, which now is available to all. Romans 3:21 says, “But now the righteousness of God without the Law is manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the prophets.”

We no longer condemn ourselves for failing to “keep the Law:” No one but Jesus ever succeeded in keeping the Law. Acts 15:7-11 says that none of the Jews, who were raised up from infancy under the Law were ever able to keep it. It goes on to say that the Gentiles are not responsible to “keep the Law.”

They (and all believers, Jew or Gentile) are offered the Gift of Eternal life through the finished work of Jesus at the Cross. The Law, thereafter, sees the believer as “Dead in Christ!” ( Galatians 2:19-21) And the Law has no effect on “dead people”…it warns the living of the Holiness of God, and the coming judgment. But our judgment was carried out and finished at the Cross.

What did John the Baptist and Jesus preach?

John the Baptist preached the coming Judgment and the promise of God. Jesus pointed out that as natural humans, we are already under the condemnation of God for our sin. But He presented His life as the sacrifice for our sins, and promised that we can have eternal life immediately, if we believe His Word, and trust in His shed blood for our salvation.

We do not have to wait until we die to know that we have eternal life. He gives it immediately when we place our faith in Him, and He says that He wants us to know that we have eternal life. Romans 8:2 says that “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death!”

That is Good News!

So, What is Our Job?

We know that our job is to be ambassadors for Christ. So, we want to learn how to do our job effectively. When I worked as a welder, I wanted to learn to do my job well, with top quality welds and high productivity. I wanted to be effective at my job.

Here at True Hope Christian Fellowship, we are attempting to equip the saints for the work of ministry, as we are told to do in Ephesians 4:11-17. We hope to see all the believers grow to be highly functional as ambassadors of Christ.

That involves thorough, serious teaching of the Written Word, and constant encouragement for all of us to “get out of our comfort zone,” as they say.

But the fact remains, for all of us: We have a job to do! Let’s get on with it!

Lord Jesus, grip our hearts with the honor You have conferred upon us, that we are allowed to go to work with You, every day, and see Your hand changing the world around us, and offering life to the hopeless. Teach us to be devoted to Your service, so that it is no longer a matter of convenience, but of true commitment.

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026

How to Understand The Gospel As A Cause For Rejoicing

The Gospel Is A Cause For Rejoicing

2^nd Corinthians 1:12-24 (Read it!)

Introduction:

We have examined a couple of passages in 2^nd Corinthians 1, and ended with verse eleven. Now we want to progress through Paul’s explanation of his own motives in life and in teaching.

The Gospel Is A Cause For Rejoicing, Both To The Speaker And The Hearers.

¹²For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation (Greek, “anastrepho”…how we live our lives) in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.

Paul and his associates rejoiced in having a clean conscience, knowing that their testimony was consistent. He gave full credit to the Lord, as the One who made such lives possible. He and his team had “practiced what they preached.” They had not given a mixed message. They never preached one thing, as if it mattered, and then did the opposite, as if it did not matter. They preached the truth, and lived it, too! And they rejoiced for the privilege to have served!

¹³For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end; ¹⁴As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are our’s in the day of the Lord Jesus.

I found this passage to be difficult to understand in the King James Version. The translators used the word “acknowledge” when the intent was “to understand.”

The New International Version Renders It This Way:

³For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, ¹⁴as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Our “objective” in all speech or writing is communication. But without understanding, we have not communicated. I believe that “Until learning occurs, I have not accomplished teaching.” Paul seemed to agree with this principle. He and his fellow laborers were careful, in writing. They used language they knew the recipients could read. They taught concepts they knew they could understand.

Their hope was that the understanding would continue to develop until the Corinthian believers completely understood the message of Christ. The end result of such understanding is Joy! Paul and his fellow-laborers already rejoiced to see the reality of Christ developing in the lives of the Corinthian believers. (Despite their many errors.)

They hoped the Corinthian believers, eventually, would fully rejoice to have received the message from Paul. (It was not always “fun to hear” Paul’s message. Most of the Corinthian letters are corrective teaching. In our natural selves, we don’t like to be corrected.)

What About Correction, When It Matters?

When we desperately need to be correct in some matter, and we know that the person correcting us truly does know what is correct, and that they are truly acting for our benefit, then correction is precious to us. But when we just want to think that whatever we are doing is correct, then we resent correction. It makes us unapproachable when we feel and act this way.

Personal Example:

A missionary friend told of a tense situation: He and his family had invited several couples from the remote people they were serving, to have dinner at their house. But as the meal progressed, he could see that the men looked more and more angry, and the women looked both embarrassed and flattered.

He had no idea what was happening. His daughter rescued him. She asked him to help with something in the kitchen: There, she asked, “Daddy, do you know what you are doing??” He knew something was wrong, but did not know why. So he replied honestly, “NO! Please tell me!”

She explained that he had been trying to dislodge a piece of corn from between his molars, by probing with his tongue. “But, Daddy, in this culture, THIS…” (poking her tongue into her cheek) “means THIS! (She gave a sly, suggestive wink!)

The missionary was horrified to learn that he had been openly (though unknowingly) flirting with all the wives of the men they had invited as guests. He marched right back into the dining room, and confessed his abysmal ignorance of their culture. He explained that he had only been trying to get a piece of corn out of his teeth.

They accepted his apology, and cheered up, saying “We do it this way!” (Shoving a finger into the far reaches of their mouths, and picking with a fingernail.) The ministry in that village was saved by a young girl who was more observant of culture than the adults were, and a father who was not too proud to learn from a child.

Paul’s Original Intent

¹⁵And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit; ¹⁶And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.

Paul had intended to pass their way again, but it had not yet worked out. His intention had been to bring additional blessing through teaching, and guidance, as the Holy Spirit worked in their midst, by his presence and teaching and example.

¹⁷When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay? ¹⁸But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. ¹⁹For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.

No Double Meanings: No Ambiguity

Jesus was not ambiguous in His teaching. Paul sought to also be ambiguous. He did not “say one thing and mean another.” (As an example, he asked, “Do you think I was ‘just talking’ when I said I wanted to visit you?”)

He did not speak lightly to them about anything. Life is serious, even when individual things are amusing or entertaining. The overall results of life are very serious. He had wanted to visit them, and still wanted to do so.

Paul did not “pretend to agree with them and then attempt to correct them.” He was not playing games, and he was never “two-faced” about his ministry. As a God-ordained Apostle, Paul told the truth all the time, and did not try to “soft-peddle…soft-sell” anything. He told the blunt truth.

²⁰For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

Paul assured them that all the promises of God were secure. There was no “hidden agenda” with them or with God. As they offered God’s Word, they did so in complete transparency.

Who Builds The Relationships Between Teachers And Their Hearers?

²¹Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; ²²Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Remember that the One who assures us that the teaching we are hearing, and the person doing the teaching are from Jesus Christ, and not leading us astray, is God Himself. God sends the faithful shepherds, and He has sealed them in Christ (Same as He did with us!) and has indwelt them with the person of the Holy Spirit. (Again, the same as He did for us!)

And God has given us the means, in His Word, by which to ascertain their character and their trustworthiness: God tells the necessary qualifications for all the (Elders, Shepherds, Overseers,) and Deacons, in 1^st Timothy 3:1-8, in Titus 1:5-9, and in 1^st Peter 5:1-4.

He tells us what their task is, in both the Old and the New Testament. (In Ezekiel 34:1-10, God laid out seven tasks of the shepherds of Israel, and He condemned them for not even trying to do those things.

And, in Ephesians 4:11-16, God tells us the additional tasks of the New Testament Church leaders. In Acts 20:26-35, he gave final commands to the Elders of the Church at Ephesus. So, we all have the capacity and resources to look, and to search the scriptures, to see whether the teaching is from God, and whether the workers are doing what they are called to do.

**Why Did Paul Not Visit Corinth Again, Sooner?**

²³Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.

Paul knew that the Church at Corinth was riddled with problems, but he did not want to come to them with a list of “all the things they were doing wrong.” He hoped to come to them only to confer a blessing, through fellowship and additional teaching: Not to “Straighten you numbskulls out!” He did not want that sort of relationship with them. Paul had led most of them to Christ, and evidently had baptized a few of them. He would rather enjoy a fatherly, loving relationship with them, rather than constantly scolding and correcting them.

Additionally, he freely confessed that their faith was not to be ruled by Paul, but by Jesus. He only hoped to add to their joy by helping them in their faith. He concluded that it was by faith alone that they stood righteous before God.

²⁴Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

What About Here At True Hope?

We do not “dominate the faith” of anyone here. Our primary goal is to feed the Flock: To help the flock to gain a deeper understanding of God’s Word. All of us seek to help one another to experience faith, and God’s Peace, and the Joy of the Lord. We seek to build disciples who can, in turn, build others, drawing others to believe the Gospel of Christ, and to understand His Word.

The Great Commission comprises the “marching orders” for the whole Body of Christ. We want to teach one another to embrace the One Job he has given to us. We have a multitude of “tasks,” and not all of us have the same tasks, because, for one thing, our gifts also vary.

But ALL of us have only One Job: the Great Commission was given several times, and in different contexts, and in slightly different phrasing: but the central command is the same. We are His Witnesses: We are Ambassadors for Christ. That is not a matter of choice, or preference. That is our reason to exist!

Lord Jesus, awaken in our hearts the earnest desire to walk with You and to become active ambassadors of the King of Kings: representatives of the Savior, the eternal God in the Flesh. Take away our constant tendency to wander away to toys and earthly distractions. Teach us the serious central issues of life.

May 9, 2026May 9, 2026

How To Understand and Use God’s Plan Of Evangelism

What Is God’s Plan Of Evangelism?

2^nd Corinthians 1:1, Acts 17:1-14, Acts 18:1-8, Romans 15:15-20; Acts 8:1-4

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

Introduction:

Corinth was the Roman Capitol of Achaia at the time Paul was writing. Obviously, wherever he went, Paul made a practice of going to principal cities, such as Corinth, Philippi, etc. He sought to plant churches in each place as a “start,” like planting grape cuttings. This served to introduce the Gospel of Christ, via a self-supporting, self-propagating organism. He hoped each “start” (each fledgling church) would flourish and spread to all the villages around them.

To begin with, the Church exists as a Living, self-replicating, and self-propagating organism. The Holy Spirit has planted the church in the world, much as the wind plants dandelions in your lawn. (Obviously, You did not plant the dandelions there: They simply arrived, blown by the wind.) And they blossomed where the wind planted them: They sent down tough, resilient taproots, seeking water and nourishment. Furthermore, they maintained through dry summers, cold winters, and other hazards. And, every spring, they blossom again, producing hundreds of seeds. When mature, those seeds will blow away on the wind, like tiny parachutes and start new life elsewhere.

Clearly, the World does not want us here, any more than you want the dandelions in your lawn. But, like dandelions, we blossom where God planted us. And, like dandelion seedlings, we dig deep into God’s Word, seeking Living Water and Spiritual food. We multiply, and the “Wind of God” carries our “seeds” elsewhere. They take root in other places, other cities, other countries and languages.

This is God’s Plan of Evangelism

Paul demonstrates this “plan of evangelism” in Romans 15:17-20. It says “from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” Now the distance from Jerusalem to Illyricum, by road, is anywhere from 1,000 to 1,400 miles. (That distance depends on what cities he visited as “side-trips.”)

Paul did NOT “talk to every single person” in that area. He planted churches any where he found even a few receptive hearts. Then he allowed the natural, spiritual reproduction of the Living Spirit of Christ to spread out and “self-propagate” from each of those “starts.”

Normal Propagation

Corinth and other primary cities in Achaia had received the Gospel of Christ. God caused many small churches to thrive there, though Paul had not visited everywhere in that province…just a few chief cities and towns (We only know of Athens, Corinth, and Cenchrea, for sure.) But, he said that He extended his greeting “to all the saints which were in ALL Achaia!” The Gospel had spread, just as it is supposed to do!

Forced Propagation

Acts 8:1-8 gives us one example of a delayed, but highly productive “spread.” Persecution broke out in Jerusalem after a mob stoned Stephen to death. The persecution “broke up the party” that the believers were enjoying in Jerusalem. They had continued to increase, in and around Jerusalem, but they had made no effort to evangelize outside that area.

in Acts 1:8, Jesus gave the following assignment: “After that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, ye shall be witnesses unto Me, in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the Earth.”

The believers at Jerusalem, (whom we see in Acts chapters 2-6) had become pretty complacent: They were “having a great time around the Table of the Lord,” but they were not venturing out “into the field,” as they had been directed. We can’t really blame them: We tend to do the same thing.

What Happened in Jerusalem?

After the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7, a persecution broke out. Acts 8:1 “And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.”

Please remember: Many of these believers were not natives of Jerusalem. They had come to Jerusalem for Pentecost, and the Apostles introduced them to Jesus as the Messiah. They stayed, to learn and grow, and to fellowship and grow strong. When the persecution began, most of them probably just went back to wherever they had originally come from.

And we see the result in Acts 8:4, : “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” (Aha! So, persecution can result in evangelism!)

But, do we have to wait for persecution to drive us to the world around us? Or can we do it for the sheer joy of responding in obedience to the Great Commission?

The Joy of Christ

If we read the rest of Acts 8, we see that Philip went straight to Samaria. It was the old capitol city of the region of Samaria. Idolatry was common there. Jews and Gentiles existed in a confusing mix. They pracitced a “mixed bag” of Judaism and a host of other religions. Paul preached the Gospel there: Specifically, it says, “He preached Christ unto Them.” (That is what we are called to do, too!)

The result? Acts 8:8 says, “There was great Joy in that city.”

The Joy of Christ has been the result wherever there has been a true reception to the Gospel. In individual lives, we see that Joy replicated, today. We see lives transformed by the Living Word of God. As a result, we see the Person and the Character of Christ beginning to appear in their lives, and the Fragrance of the Savior beginning to emanate from their lives.

We see people, young and old, lifting up their eyes from the World around them, taking their attention away from the crushing apathy, the evil desires and the gross self-centeredness of the Human Race, and seeing Jesus, the perfect human who is also the True God, in the flesh.

The Result In Our Lives

Together, we find Refuge in Him. We rejoice together in His Light, and we feed together on His Word, and we fellowship together around the Person and Work of the Risen Christ. We learn to find our Joy in Him, (Habakkuk 3:17-19) and, as Habakkuk did, to find that He “makes our feet like the feet of the ‘hind,’ a rock-climbing, mountain-loving deer: He places our feet on our high places,” so that the troubles of this life seem far below us. And even when they affect us directly, we see those troubles from the vantage point of Citizens of Heaven, not as those still enslaved to the World.

How We Choose God’s Plan

People have written scores of books about evangelism. One such book claims the title of “The Master’s Plan of Evangelism,”and it is actually a pretty good book. If one is truly going to follow “The Master’s Plan of Evangelism,” then regardless of how they see that plan, the first item on the agenda is to deliberately choose God’s plan, as opposed to our own, or a program set up by our school or by the founder of a movement, or anything else.

If we can Look to God’s Word, and see how He planned to reach the world, and deliberately choose to learn His way, and to follow His way, then we are already on the right path.

Acts 16:6-11

⁶Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, ⁷After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. ⁸And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.

⁹And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. ¹⁰And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. ¹¹Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis;

When we read Acts 16:6-11, we see that Paul and his entourage did not get to just “look at a map and pick where to go next:” God forbade them to go in one direction, then another. (verses 6, 7) But a little further along, He sent a vision, directing them to Macedonia. So, off they went, going where HE directed them to go, and doing as HE directed them to do!

**Being “In” The Way: (On The Path: “On Task“)**

In Genesis 24:27, we see that the servant of Abraham, who was on assignment to find a wife for Isaac, stated that he was “in the right place, doing the right thing,” when he prayed and asked God for direction. He said “I being in the way, the LORD led me!” He was already choosing, day by day and step by step, to follow the assignment given to him, and the directions he had been given so far. And so it was, that, when he asked for specific direction, God responded immediately, and very specifically.

Paul and his group were in the same situation in Acts 16:6-11. They were doing their “best diligence” to follow what they knew of God’s direction. But then it came down to a need for a specific direction: They had tried two directions, and God had “closed the door.” (We are not told how: All we know is that He forbade them to go to the first two places they attempted.)

So, they continued seeking His will, and He gave them very specific direction. They obeyed that new directive immediately, and they headed for Macedonia.

What About Us?

As a Church, we were already promoting evangelism and discipleship. Our church preached the Gospel and we taught the Word, and we avoided distraction. We taught that the one assignment Jesus gave to the Church was the Great Commission. We understand that the propagation of the church occurs because of a “Spiritual chain reaction.” (One beliver shares with one unbeliever. If that person believes, and is born again, then TWO believers are now sharing with others, and so forth.)

We continually sought His direction as to how we could reach out and be a part of His plan. And we had no idea how that might work out. Then He dropped “His plan for us” into our collective laps! We responded with joy and eager obedience, and God has been blessing this little church, beyond anything we had hoped for! We have now supplied hundreds of Bibles for believers in places where they could not possibly afford to buy them.

The Results?

We can see the results in the Philippines, in Papua New Guinea, in Kenya and in Pakistan. Hundreds of hungry hearts are being fed on the Word of God. Hundreds whom we may never meet in this world are being trained up to “Blossom where they are planted, to Dig deep into God’s Word, to Press closer into Him for the Living Water of His Grace, to Bear fruit, and to multiply.” (Just like Dandelions!) And we are called to do the same!

Can there be more? Without a doubt, there can be! But what we must continually do, is to continue in obedience and to look to Him for direction, just as we have done before.

Lord Jesus, please raise our eyes to see You clearly, and to discern the path of obedience for each soul among our flock. We desire to do Your Will, and we confess that, apart from Your leading, we do not know how to do so.

April 30, 2026April 30, 2026

How to Understand Paul’s Missionary Letters

A Missionary Letter From Paul

1^st Corinthians 16:5-18

Introduction:

We sometimes receive letters from the missionaries we support. Sometimes they have a lot of information, sometimes a lot of prayer concerns, sometimes exciting reports about what the Lord is doing where they serve.

Last week we received two such letters: One simultaneously gave exciting news and let us know of a need:

Burdett Letter

Jim and Judy Burdett announced on Facebook the fulfillment of the ministry we have supported for years. The announcement said the Dom believers are delivering the Dom New Testament. They are distributing them among the people who speak that language in Papua New Guinea. We have a copy of this translation, in the foyer, under Jim and Judy Burdett’s prayer letter and card. The churches they planted began with over one thousand of these New Testaments, last year. Those thousand books are nearly gone. Many people earnestly desire to have a copy of the New Testament.

They have also distributed hundreds of copies of another book: “King of Glory.” It is written in Melanesian Pidgin, the trade language of Papua New Guinea. (It is effectively a translation of the book we often give away, here, called “The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus.” The book explains the Old Testament. It shows Jesus’s appearances throughout the Old Testament. (Jesus taught the two disciples in that way on the road to Emmaus, before they recognized Him.) They are nearly out of that book, too! So, we take that news as an invitation to help replenish their printing fund, though they did not ask for anything.

Megan Lewis Letter

We received another prayer letter, but it was the reverse. Megan Lewis, whom we support in her ministry with Ethnos 360, asked me to send her any news of our church, or needs within our church or ministries, so that she could pray for us! That is encouraging, all by itself!

Paul Sent A Few Missionary Letters, Too:

I am quoting the NLT translation today, because it allows us to see how similar his letter is to the letters we receive.

NLT Version Reads Very Much Like A Modern Prayer Letter.

Paul included these personal notes at the end of the book of 1^st Corinthians. The rest of the book was mostly corrective teaching. This part includes more personal sharing, and information about Paul’s travel plans and about his fellow-laborers.

⁵I am coming to visit you after I have been to Macedonia,^[a] for I am planning to travel through Macedonia. ⁶Perhaps I will stay awhile with you, possibly all winter, and then you can send me on my way to my next destination. ⁷This time I don’t want to make just a short visit and then go right on. I want to come and stay awhile, if the Lord will let me. ⁸In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost. ⁹There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me.

Other Leaders

¹⁰When Timothy comes, don’t intimidate him. He is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. ¹¹Don’t let anyone treat him with contempt. Send him on his way with your blessing when he returns to me. I expect him to come with the other believers.^[b]

¹²Now about our brother Apollos—I urged him to visit you with the other believers, but he was not willing to go right now. He will see you later when he has the opportunity.

¹³Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous.^[c] Be strong. ¹⁴And do everything with love.

¹⁵You know that Stephanas and his household were the first of the harvest of believers in Greece,^[d] and they are spending their lives in service to God’s people. I urge you, dear brothers and sisters,^[e] ¹⁶to submit to them and others like them who serve with such devotion. ¹⁷I am very glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come here. They have been providing the help you weren’t here to give me. ¹⁸They have been a wonderful encouragement to me, as they have been to you. You must show your appreciation to all who serve so well.

King James Version, In Contrast:

(Read it) (Notice verse 15: “Addicted to the ministry of the saints.”)

**So, Where Was Paul?**

Historical And Geographic Notes:

Macedonia, today, is a separate Balkan nation, north of Greece. But, at that time in history, it was under Roman rule, and it also included the northern part of what we call Greece, today.

Ephesus was also under Roman rule at that time, and though it originally was a Greek city, today it is in modern-day Turkey, on the coast, directly across the Aegean Sea from Athens.

Achaia included the northern crescent-shaped coast of Pelopónnese, the southern section of Greece, as well as a wide strip of the southernmost section of Greece, proper. It was bordered on the west by the Ionian Sea, and on the East by the Aegean Sea. It included Cenchrea, Corinth and Athens, as major cities. Corinth was the Roman capital of Achaia in Paul’s time.

Paul’s Plans

Paul shared with the believers at Corinth that he was currently in Ephesus, and planned to stay there until after the feast of Pentecost (50 days after Passover) because he had a wide open door for evangelism, although there were many who opposed the message, as well. He said he intended to pass through Macedonia on the way to Corinth.

Now, when I look at a map, I can see that Ephesus and Corinth are separated by “only” 250 miles of water. So, to my mind, a ship seems a logical choice: It might be a three- or four-day voyage, depending on where else among the various islands the ship might make stops. But ancient sea travel was dangerous, due to storms and pirates, as well as fairly expensive, compared to walking.

If all you want to do is “get there,” then, even today, a flight is the most efficient way to travel almost anywhere in the world. But: If the journey itself, and the lives of people you touch along the way are also important, then you might choose a means of travel that takes much longer, but allows stops and visits en route.

Paul evidently chose walking: He expressed his intent to travel through Macedonia en route to Corinth. We can read Acts 16 and 17 to see where in Macedonia he may have wanted to visit:

What Cities Might He Visit In Macedonia? (See The Vision In Acts 16:9)

Neapolis, (Acts 16:11)
Philippi, (Acts 16:12-40)
Amphipolis, (Acts 17:1)
Apollonia, (Acts 17:1)
Thessalonica, (Acts 17:1-10)
Berea, (Acts 17:10-14) and
Nicopolis (Titus 3:12)

A walking journey through Macedonia could take some significant time. God does not reveal to us how long he may have spent at each of these places, but the walk itself (Ephesus to Corinth) is around 865 miles by land, and each visit may have added a few days, or more, to the overall journey. So, Paul lets his supporters in Corinth know where he is, and where he intended to go next, and approximately when he might arrive in Corinth.

Paul’s Priorities

When we read 1^st Corinthians 16:8, 9, we see a little of “what made Paul tick.” The reason he stayed in Ephesus, was an open door to the Gospel there: He was not about to miss it!

Want to see another place where Paul states his priorities? Romans 15:20 says, “²⁰Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:” And, even when he was in prison, for preaching the Gospel, Paul asked for prayer that he would have boldness to keep on preaching the Gospel.

Ephesians 6:18-20, says “¹⁸Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; ¹⁹And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Paul’s Other Concerns

The Lives Of The Corinthian Believers

Paul said that the believers were to “¹³Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous.^[c] Be strong. ¹⁴And do everything with love.”

They were to be watchful at all times, knowing the enemy is not going to take a day off.
They were to stand firm in the faith in which they walked, not allowing any distractions.
He said to be courageous, facing whatever persecutions might come, as they appeared.
They were to be strong in the Lord.
They were to saturate everything they did in the Agapé Love of Christ.

**How The Believers Were Going To Treat The Leaders That God Sent To Them**

Timothy

Timothy was one of Paul’s protégés. He was much younger, and, though he was gifted as a prophet of God, he faced some resistance because of his youth. In 1^st Timothy 4:12-16, Paul warned Timothy that this could be an obstacle, and told him how to avoid it:

“¹²Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, (it means “behavior”) in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. ¹³Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. (Teaching) ¹⁴Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. ¹⁵Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. ¹⁶Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”

He told Timothy that his job was to live in such a way that no one would have an excuse to be dismissive of his ministry. But, he warned the Corinthian believers, that their job was to render full respect to Timothy, and not allow anyone to intimidate or despise him.

They were to treat Timothy just as they did Paul, because he was doing the same work. His assignment was from God, just like Paul. Also, he told them to help him on his way, financially.

Paul asked Apollos to visit them, but Apollos was busy elsewhere. He said he would come when time allowed.

Stephanas, And Others Like Him

But Paul was especially concerned that they would learn to value Stephanas and his family for the work they did among the believers, there in Corinth.

He said that they had served faithfully and had been a great blessing to Paul as well as to the whole church. They had refreshed the spirits of Paul and the whole church. Therefore, Paul declared that they were to treat Stephanas and others like him, as elders: Follow their leading, and show appreciation for their work.

The Writer of Hebrews echoes this command: Hebrews 13:17 says, “¹⁷Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”

How Does It Apply?

This command is specifically addressed to Church leadership: Secular leaders or supervisors are not “Watching for your souls.” They may be actively attempting to destroy your faith, in fact. But Paul gives reason to follow the leaders in your assembly, and what to watch for in identifying such leadership. 1^st Timothy 3:1-8; Titus 1:5-9; and 1^st Peter 5:1-4 all tell us how proper elders are to behave, and what they are to accomplish. Ezekiel 34:1-10, (from a negative point of view) lists the seven tasks of the shepherds and concludes that the shepherds of Israel were seriously failing to do their collective job.

How Does It Apply to Us?

So, this “Missionary Letter” had a great deal of corrective teaching or exhortation included. It was not just a “How are things on your end?” letter. Information was given, and observations made, and exhortation given, telling them (and us) to actually live out the principles of God’s Word. It is not just “Fun Stuff to Know and Tell!” The letter is practical. It assigns the reader some responsibility and allows them (us) to see “how the writer is practicing what he preaches.”

Paul did all the things he encouraged his followers to do.

My desire is to learn to follow in Paul’s footsteps, but I seem to be progressing awfully slowly.

My hope is that all of you will join me in this endeavor. No one is saying it will be fun or easy: But we get to watch the Lord at work, not only in our own lives, but also in the World at large.

Lord Jesus, please correct the trajectory of our lives. Help us to press on toward the mark: The prize, of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. We desire to please You with our lives. We know that “it is God who works in us, both to will and to do of Your good pleasure.” Bless us to Your Service. Amen!

April 25, 2026April 25, 2026

How to Know From God’s Word Why Jesus Wept

Why did Jesus Weep?

John 11:32-37 (Cp. Romans 12:15; Hebrews 4:15, 16)

³²Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. ³³When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. ³⁴And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

³⁵Jesus wept.

³⁶Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! ³⁷And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

Introduction

We often hear about John 11:35 being the “shortest verse in the Bible.” That is true, of course. But it doesn’t seem to have much bearing on what it means for us as believers. Who cares that it is the shortest? That fact is interesting, perhaps, but, in itself it is meaningless. The content of every verse is what we need. What does it say, and what does it mean? And, ultimately, how can I apply it to my own life?

In the context of Lazarus’ death and the grief of his family and friends, Jesus weeping means much more. Did grief overwhelm Jesus also, at having lost His friend? That seems unlikely, since He knew He was about to raise him back to normal life. It seems far more likely that Jesus wept for the grief that the others were experiencing.

Get The Whole Context!

Remember, back in verses 1-14, we saw that Jesus knew all about what was going on in Bethany. Though he was a long distance away, He knew that Lazarus was sick. He knew that it would ultimately not result in death, (v.4) but in His own glorification. Jesus waited two days after hearing the news that Lazarus was sick. Lazarus would not have “just died” when Jesus arrived. He waited that long so that no one had any doubt about his death. So that Lazarus would have been dead long enough that his body would have begun to decay!

Then He told His disciples that He was going back to Judaea. They were afraid the Rulers of the Temple might kill Him. He finally explained to them that Lazarus was dead, and that He, Jesus, was going to “awaken” him. They were still pretty anxious about going back, to a town so close to Jerusalem, but they all went along.

When Jesus initially arrived, the majority of the people he met were his friends. They told Him, “Lord, if you had been here, Lazarus would not have died.” To one another, they said, “This man could heal the blind. Couldn’t he have prevented the death of His friend?” So, we can see that many of them had at least a rudimentary faith in His ability to heal.

What about Death itself?

The issue they were all struggling with, was “Why didn’t you save his life?” But it had not yet occurred to any of them that Jesus could actually raise the dead, except Martha, who seemed to have a glimmer of an idea that Jesus could ask God to bring Lazarus back from the dead. (See verse 22: She said, “Even now, whatsoever you will ask of God, God will give it to you.”)

**Can God Raise The Dead?**

So, the next question is, “How far does Jesus, the Messiah’s Authority really extend? Can He raise the dead?” We know that this is not the first time God raised the dead. In 1^st Kings 17:17-24, we see that the Widow’s son at Zarephath had died, and Elijah asked God to restore him. God honored the request and raised the boy back to life.

2^nd Kings 4:1-37 tells of Elisha, the protégé of Elijah, and another child God raised from the dead. And, at the end of Elisha’s life, long after his death, in 2^nd Kings 13:20, 21, we see some men sent out to bury the corpse of a dead man. But, because the gravediggers saw a band of raiders coming, they hurriedly let the man’s body down into the grave of Elisha.

The result must have been a shocking experience to those men: When the corpse touched the bones of Elisha, it sprang back to life. (I especially enjoy this story: I can imagine the men who attempting to do the burying, running back to the city walls to escape the raiders, and looking back to see the dead man running with them. I’ll bet they really ran, then!)

Finally, Ezekiel 37: Though it was a vision, it still spoke of God’s authority to bring back those who had long ago died. In that particular case, it referred to the resurrection of the Jews as a nation, both physically and spiritually.

But; Can Jesus Raise the Dead?

So, the concept of God raising the dead was not new. But none of them had ever seen it, and now they would see whether Jesus actually possessed the authority He claimed. That is the real question: “Does Jesus truly have the Authority He claims to have?”

We still ask that question today: “Can Jesus really take care of me and my family? Is His blood really sufficient to take away all my sins? How sure am I, really, that everything He says is really true?”

Jesus wants us to be sure. He wants us to know that we have eternal life, now. 1^st John 5:11-13 says that He wants us to know that we have eternal life… not to hope, or just persuade ourselves, or something. He wants us to know it.

The Widow of Zarephath had already believed that Elijah was a man of God. She agreed to make the small cake of bread for him. He promised that her little barrel of meal and her little jar of oil would not run out until the famine was past. And it didn’t!

But then her son died. She immediately reproached Elijah, in grief and anger. But he took the dead child from her, and carried him up to the loft where he was living. He prayed for God to “return his soul to his body.” And God did so. Her response was “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the Word of the LORD in thy mouth is Truth!”

God wants us to be that sure!

How Can We Experience Eternal Life?

We know from the Old Testament stories that God is completely capable of getting us safely home to Himself. We believe that His authority carries beyond the grave. But He wants us to be sure, not only that we already have eternal life through faith in the shed blood of Jesus: He also wants us to be secure in the knowledge that He is with us now, and can carry us through all of the trials of life and through death itself. This is not a “pie in the sky when you die” idea. He calls us to experience that Eternal Life in the here and now!

In John 17:3, Jesus said “ And this is Eternal Life: that they may know thee, the one true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” The word translated as “know,” here, is the Greek word, “ginosko,” meaning “experiential knowledge.” It is not just “knowing a lot about a person.” It means having an ongoing, living, growing relationship with that person. If we are to experience eternal life today, then we need to be in that ongoing, experiential relationship with Jesus.

We can “have” eternal life, because we have placed our faith in His completed work at the Cross…faith in His shed blood for our sins. But to experience it in a real, everyday way, we need to be walking with Him.

Seeing the Dead Raised

We might think, “Well, why doesn’t God raise the dead today, and make everyone believe?” There were enemies who saw Jesus raise Lazarus. The experience did not persuade them to place their faith in Jesus. No! They plotted to kill him! And, in the next chapter, it occurred to them that they had better include Lazarus in the bargain: (“Gotta kill him too, or people will believe in Jesus anyway!”)

In Luke 16:19-31, we see the story of the “other Lazarus.” In it, the dead rich man argued that “if they see someone raised from the dead, they will believe!” Abraham answered, “If they will not believe Moses and the Prophets, neither will they believe, though one be raised from the dead.” This passage in John 11, and 12 is clear proof of that truth! Those who rebelled against Jesus were determined to oppose him despite having seen undeniable proof of His deity!

How does it Help Us, to Know that Jesus Wept?

Compassion should have been strong in every priest.

In the Old Testament, it is easy to see that some of the human High Priests were not very compassionate. And the High Priest at that moment, when Jesus was raising the dead, was Caiaphas. He was leading the group that wanted Jesus murdered! (How “compassionate” was that?)

In Exodus 28:29-30, God called the High Priest to carry the names of the tribes of Israel on his shoulders and on his heart. Leviticus 16:1-6 says that the High Priest had to offer a sacrifice for his own sins, before he could minister as the mediator for the people. Hebrews 5:1-3 confirms that the High Priest is supposed to “have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are ‘out of the way,’ specifically because he himself is surrounded by his own infirmity.” And that was just about the human high priests. They were flawed individuals themselves! And they were to have compassion upon others for that very reason.

Jesus Is The Perfect High Priest

And, in Hebrews 4:15, 16, we see that “We do not have a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” I often point out that “our feelings are not always an accurate reflection of reality.” That is certainly true, but the fact remains that the feelings themselves are a reality that we have to deal with! And Jesus is aware of our feelings and is compassionate toward us in our frailties.

Jesus had no sin, but He suffered as though He were just like any other human. He felt the grief of the people, and “wept with those who wept,” genuinely feeling their grief, and sharing in it for their sake. He did not just say, “Chin up! This too shall pass!” Nor did He utter any other such inane platitudes: He wept with them because of their grief, even though He knew He was about to bring them indescribable Joy.

God Calls Us To Join Jesus In His Priesthood

Jesus is the True High Priest… but every believer is called to serve as a priest in the Body of Christ. We are to be His hands and feet and heart in our lifetime, here on Earth, reaching out to those around us in genuine compassion.

This is part of the unity of the church: we are all part of the Body of Christ. And when one part of the body is injured, it affects the whole body to one degree or another. Every living body exhibits this care for itself. If my back itches, for example, my body contorts itself to reach and scratch it. If a toe is injured, the whole body responds to protect that toe by limping or hobbling along, avoiding further injury. We are to care for one another at that level, spiritually and emotionally, as well as physically.

Compassion is Required in Disciples

Romans 12:15 clearly commands us to “Weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice.” This is not a command to “pretend” grief or “pretend’ joy. It is a command to extend our hearts to the needs of those around us, to the extent that we feel their sorrow as our own and we feel their joy as our own. Ultimately, of course, that makes us pretty vulnerable to being hurt. But it also opens us up to experiencing the blessing of God flowing through us to those who are hurting, in the world around us.

If we are genuinely caring about the needs of those around us, then, as Jesus did, we will often find ourselves weeping in sympathy with those who weep, and experiencing the joy of those who rejoice.

Lord Jesus, open our hearts to be like You, caring deeply for those around us, and deeply, genuinely empathizing with them as You demonstrated in Your life. Help us to demonstrate the Agape Love so that the World will see Your face in us.

April 19, 2026April 19, 2026

How to Understand New Testament Giving As a Church

New Testament Giving: Corporate and Individual

Acts 11:27-30; 1^st Corinthians 16:1-4; 2^nd Corinthians 8:1-5; 2^nd Corinthians 9:1-15

Introduction:

Many of us “shy away” from discussing the topic of giving. Part of the reason is that many unbelievers claim, “Churches are only after yer money!”And, sadly, there have been many charlatans over the years who took up collections. They supposedly did so for some worthy cause, or for a charitable project or something. But they were taking the funds for their own use. Some men and organizations still “make merchandise of religion,” so to speak, and even make merchandise of Biblical teaching.

2^nd Corinthians 2:17 says “For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.”
Notice that the KJV only says they “corrupt” the Word of God. Newer translations say they are “peddling the Word of God for profit,” or making a “trade” of it. In “selling” God’s Word as a commercial product, people frequently do corrupt it. They water it down or “modify” it in other ways, to make it “more marketable;” more palatable.

That is one reason our church explicitly does NOT expect visitors to contribute. This church is self-supporting, and visitors are our guests. This is not a money-centered organization.

I feel fairly comfortable talking about giving because this church has been faithful to give. For at least the last thirteen years, money has not been a problem. No one here needs to feel as though anyone is “squeezing” them for money. Therefore, I can teach on New Testament Giving without fear that someone willbe offended.

Context Matters!

We do take a weekly offering, but we do not try to persuade people to give. And to those who give, we do not ask them to “give more.” Why? Because we know that people are already giving as God directs them!

In the scriptures we read today, we will see that one of the principles of New Testament giving is “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” But they had a purpose in their giving: A specific need right then: Turn to Acts 11:27-30, please.

Acts 11:27-30

²⁷And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. ²⁸And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. ²⁹Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: ³⁰Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

There was a famine, and it evidently hit Judaea pretty hard. The believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the believers in Judaea. They did so, and sent Paul and Barnabas to see that the funds arrived safely and were used properly.

When we give to missionaries, we do so because we already see how they are living. They are using their lives and funds in a way that honor God and that further the Gospel.

The first time we sent funds for Bibles, we sent through a known, reliable man. The people actually received the Bibles before we delivered the money to him! He was faithful! The recipients are faithful, too. They have sent photos of the people receiving their Bibles, and of them worshipping together, and being baptized, etc.

The best the believers at Antioch were able to do was to send reliable men. They sent Paul and Barnabas first, and others later. There was a period of time during which they were giving regularly to support the believers in Judaea. Please turn to 1^st Corinthians 16:1-4.

1^st Corinthians 16:1-4

¹Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. ²Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. ³And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem. ⁴And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me.

Notice that the pattern of giving had spread from Antioch to other churches across Asia Minor and Greece. The Galatian churches were involved, and so was the church at Corinth. Paul said that no collection was going to be taken up when he arrived to pick up their gifts: Each person was individually responsible to set aside their own intended gift each week, and whenever Paul arrived, they could put all the gifts together for the church’s corporate donation. Then he said they could choose in writing who they wanted to carry the funds, and if they wanted him to go with their representatives, he would do so.

We have periodically announced the need for Bibles in Kenya and Pakistan, and each person gave as they chose, simply specifying that their gift was for Bibles. We demanded nothing from anyone, but the giving was generous, and immediate. The same thing happened among the Churches in Macedonia: Notice what happened there:

2^nd Corinthians 8:1-5

¹Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; ²How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. ³For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; ⁴Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. ⁵And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.

Paul had to “encourage” the believers at Corinth, as voluntary “free will” giving was a new idea to them. But, he said that he had already “bragged” about them to other churches, and warned them that there could be emissaries from those churches, coming along with him…. So, he warned them not to embarrass themselves (or him) by stingy giving.

2^nd Corinthians 9:1-15

¹For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you: ²For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many. ³Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready: ⁴Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting.

Paul had even sent messengers ahead of time to give them ample warning, so they would not feel “ambushed,” or “cornered.”

⁵Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness. ⁶But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

Paul did point out that ministry includes (but is not limited to) giving, and that as we invest in God’s work, we know that a small gift can have great returns. We saw how the boy who offered his lunch to Jesus saw a huge “return on his investment.” 5000+ people were fed that day, and there was more left over than the entire amount he had given. Remember that he gave his whole lunch. That is what made it a “heavy investment.”

The “Bottom Line”

⁷Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

This is the rule: no one needs to feel that someone is shaking the plate and staring at them. We are not “paying admission” to attend. We give because we want to do so. And we look to God for His supply in each of our lives.

⁸And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: ⁹(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.

Not for Personal Gain

Please do not see this as a temporal “investment program.” Some people do try to teach it that way, as though the Bible says, “give to the church and God will make you wealthy.” The believers in Macedonia gave out of their deep poverty, begging Paul to add their gift to the relief for Judaea. And they were still poor! They gave beyond their means. But the result was great:

¹⁰Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) ¹¹Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. ¹²For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; ¹³Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; ¹⁴And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.

What About Us?

It is almost incredible to me, that God has allowed us the privilege of giving to feed His Word into the lives of hundreds of people in Kenya, and in Pakistan. The results have been amazing, and we are encouraged by those results. But those churches are praying for us, just as Paul says, here. So, the blessing is going in both directions. And all we can say is:

¹⁵Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

AMEN!

Lord Jesus, we are thrilled to be allowed to serve You by giving to put Your Word in the hands and the hearts of people across the globe, most of whom we will never meet. Teach us to find our joy in Your presence and in Your blessing.

April 4, 2026April 4, 2026

Do You Know how the Resurrection Affects the Church?

How Does the Fact of the Resurrection Affect the Church?

In the Context of John 14:3 “That, where I am, there ye may be also”

Ephesians 1:13, 14; 2:6; 1^st Corinthians 12:13; 15:3, 4; 15:22, 15:16-19;
Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 3:1-4

Introduction:

We often hear Easter messages that either immerse us in the horror of the Cross, (Therefore, the enormity of our guilt and sin that necessitated the Cross), or in the mystery of the burial and resurrection, and the fulfilled prophecies. In addition, the messages often refute the various false myths that have sprung up from those rejecting the truth of the scriptures. Also, sometimes the messages even immerse us in the joy of the resurrection itself: They emphasize the effect that it had upon Mary Magdalene and the other disciples—Peter in particular—and on the newborn Church, at Pentecost. Those are all good things.

All these approaches are valid; all have appropriate results in the hearers, and all have reasonably good grounding in the scriptures themselves, as a rule. (Some may wander a bit, but most are pretty solidly grounded in the Word of God.)

But: What about today? What effect should the Resurrection have upon believers, today?

The Promises of Jesus the Messiah:

Jesus made an important promise in John 5:24: He said that whoever hears his word (regarding himself, and God’s redemptive plan), and believes on Him who sent Him (Places their trust in His redemptive work at the Cross), has everlasting life (present tense) and shall not (future tense) come into condemnation, but has passed over (past perfect tense) from death into life.

He also stated (John 14:3) that he was leaving Earth, to prepare a place for his followers, that where He was they should also be. He also stated (John 14:16) that the Holy Spirit, whom He was sending in place of Himself, would be with His disciples forever.

In the light of these explicit promises, let’s examine the historical facts about the Resurrection:

The Historical Facts:

1^st Corinthians 15:3, 4;

Paul stated the bare facts of the Gospel here, but he prefaced the facts with a reference to their result. To begin with, He stated the results of faith, (we have received the Gospel, and believed it, and our standing with God is dependent upon its truth.) Then he simply stated the facts, as follows:

Christ died for our sins, according to (in keeping with…in fulfillment of) the scriptures.
He was buried (also fulfilling prophecies), and that
He rose again the third day, also in keeping with Biblical prophecies.

None of these things were “just happenstance.” All were called out, far in advance, by prophecy; some of them by a multitude of prophecies. The fact of the “three days and three nights in the tomb,” for example, was in fulfillment of two very explicit prophecies, and perhaps others not so plain. The facts of the crucifixion and resurrection, however, were in fulfillment of scores of clear prophecies and more or less clear Old Testament figures…pictures of the coming Christ.

1^st Corinthians 12:13;

This one—the fact of the “baptism of the Holy Spirit”; the Act of the Holy Spirit placing each believer (us) into our respective places in the Body of Christ— is only dependent upon us being believers: When any sinner sees his own need for the Savior, and trusts in Jesus’s finished work at the Cross—Jesus’s shed blood—being full payment for his sins, the Holy Spirit immediately places him permanently into the Body of Christ. We remain there forever. Jesus said that, of all the souls given to Him, He will lose not one, but shall raise them up at the last day (John 6:39).

Ephesians 1:13, 14;

This one, too, is only dependent upon a person’s one time choice, to believe in Jesus as their only Savior and only Hope. It says that those who heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of our salvation (and who trusted in it), after they trusted in Him, were immediately sealed in Christ by the Holy Spirit of Promise who is the Earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. Several important points are made, here, for us to cling to.

Obviously, this promise reiterates the promise of Jesus: that those who heard the Gospel and believed, have eternal life now: (Not waiting to see if they were “among the chosen.”)
Another is that we are “…sealed in Christ”: It says “in Whom, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise”
Finally, it says that we are sealed in Him “until the redemption of the purchased possession to the Praise of His Glory.” We will not be lost. We have been sealed in Christ by the Holy Spirit…how long? Until the redemption of the purchased possession (the Church) unto the praise of His Glory. We are secure in Him.

This is a stated fact: not just a promise of things to come. All of it is stated as a “done deal”—past tense fact—not dependent upon events still to come. Nothing is hanging in the balance.

Ephesians 2:6

Here’s another “historical fact” which we can’t see, but which God says is already a done deal, as well: Paul says, here, that the believers have already been raised up (resurrected) together with Christ, and have already ascended with Him, and are already seated with Him in Heaven! (This is absolutely beyond my comprehension, but it is clearly stated as a “past-tense fact.”

The Personal, Current Facts: (On the basis of the Historical facts)

Romans 6:2-5; Three things:

We are Dead with Him. (v. 2, 3)
We are Risen with Him. (v. 4, 5)
We are Ascended with Him. (implied, in v.4; stated in Ephesians 2:6)

We have been baptized (not by water baptism, but by the real baptism; the Holy Spirit having placed us into the body of Christ); we have been baptized into his death and his resurrection, and (Ephesians 2:6) we are currently seated with Him in the heavenlies. These are each stated as being current realities, not future possibilities.

God does not exhort me to “Die to sin;” He says I am already dead to sin.
God does not encourage me to “be risen with Christ:” He says that I am already risen with Him.
He does not command me to “seat myself in the heavenlies:” He says that I am already there.

What Incredible Statements!

How can God say that I am “already dead with Christ?” Well…the fact is, it is true! In the Scriptures, Death always has to do with “separation” of some sort: Adam was separated from fellowship with God the moment he ate the forbidden fruit. He was spiritually dead, instantly. 930 years later, he died physically, when his spirit and soul were separated from his body.

As a result of Adam’s sin, every human is born spiritually separated from God. Any person who is still spiritually separated from God, never having been reconciled to Him, and who dies physically, is then permanently separated from God. (God calls this the “second death,” in Revelation 20:14.)

So How am I “Dead to Sin?”

My old sin nature (the only nature I had before re-birth) was and is entirely committed to self, committed to sin. God says that it cannot be repaired, cleansed or redeemed. It cannot become subject to God’s righteousness. (Romans 8:7; Ephesians 4:22)

The only way God could save me was to give me a new nature: One that was in harmony with Him. Ephesians 4:24 says that my new nature is created, after God (in His likeness) in righteousness and true holiness. That, too, is a “done deal!”

I have been separated from my old sin nature to the extent that I am no longer enslaved to it, and I have a choice: I can obey God, with a clean heart, because I have a new nature. God never proposed to “fix” my old nature: as far as He is concerned it is dead…it is irretrievably corrupt. God sees the new “Me” separated from that old sin nature. He says I am dead to sin. I do not have to submit to its desires any more.

Romans 6:2-5 says that we are also risen with Christ: His death, burial and resurrection became ours. For Eternity, God now sees us only in the person of Christ. Ephesians 2:6 says that His ascension is also ours. We are already safely at home with Him, in God’s eyes: All we are doing, here, in our earthly lives, is living out that reality. Both by word and deed, we are supposed to be demonstrating to the lost world around us, the truth of the Good News of Christ. Our lives are a living Gospel Sermon!

How Should The Resurrection Affect the way we Think?

Since these things are true, and if we are willing to accept them as fact (the Gospel and all God says about it); how should it affect our thinking and our response toward the people and circumstances with which we live?

Can I genuinely exhibit the Love of Christ, because He lives in me, and not be offended by the petty offenses people or circumstances may bring? They truly are petty, compared to the absolutely criminal abuse that was heaped upon Jesus, by the Human Race.

(And, yes, we are ALL guilty: Our sins made it necessary for Him to go there.) Consider the abuse that he endured, both on the way to the Cross, and in the Crucifixion itself: Is there anything in our experience that is worth losing sight of the Promises and Peace of the Savior?

Can we see our tormentors as precious souls, for whom Jesus died? Can we grieve for their lostness, and pray for their salvation? Can’t we choose to be a blessing to them, in hopes of turning them away from eternal condemnation? Or must we secretly feel satisfaction, that “Well, they will surely pay for that!” What an incredibly selfish response! I am equally guilty before God, and His Grace was extended to me, a completely lost sinner: Can’t I extend my feeble grace and forgiveness to them, as an act of Worship to the God who first loved me?

How Should those facts affect the way we live?

Can I stop acting as if everything revolves around “how I feel about things?” Can I literally put others first, as Jesus did? Or will I continue to concern myself primarily with my own comfort, my own safety and my own future security?

God calls us to offer our bodies a living sacrifice to Him, so that our lives will be lived out in a manner that honors Him. He calls this our “reasonable service” of worship. (Romans 12:1) That offer has to be renewed often: The problem with being “living sacrifices” is that we keep crawling off the altar! We don’t just “die, and get it over with.”

We are called to “die to self:” to “take up your cross, daily, and follow” Him. Notice that we are not called to “die to sin”…that has already been accomplished. We are called to continually renew the conscious setting aside of sin, and to live in the newness of life:

To live out the resurrected Life of Christ, not just continue in our own self-centered way.
He calls us to become the living “Love of Christ” in the unloving world around us:
To become the living “Light of Christ,” in this dark world in which we live.
He calls us to become a clean source of the Living Water, to any soul who is thirsty.
To become a clean source of the Bread of Life, to any soul who is hungry.

Live as Those Risen From the Dead

Colossians 3:1-4 (Read it!) calls us, as those risen from the dead, to set our affections on things above: He says to change our priorities. He says, since we are seated with Him above, to see things from His perspective, and count His priorities to be our own. God reiterates that we are dead, and that our lives are “hid in Christ.” God only sees us there: In Christ. He concludes that, when Christ Himself appears, we shall appear with Him, in Glory. It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus!

We are Ambassadors of the Risen Christ. That is the confidence that we have in Him: it is the assignment that we have in Him, and it is the direct result of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for the clear news of your death, and burial and, especially, your resurrection. Please use these truths to shape us into your likeness, and to transform our lives into your own image. Make us profitable servants of God.

March 19, 2026March 19, 2026

How to Know the Desired Result of the Resurrection

What Should be the Result of the Resurrection?

1^st Corinthians 15:50-58

“⁵⁰Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. ⁵¹Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵²In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

⁵³For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

⁵⁷But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Introduction:

We have talked several times about the Importance of the Resurrection, and the Hope of the Resurrection, and how it applies to us, as believers. We need to examine how the Resurrection of Jesus, and the sure hope of our own resurrection should affect our lives as believers.

The Necessity of the Resurrection

For the vast majority of believers, the general rule given in Hebrews 9:27 holds true: “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Thus, for all practical purposes, we all die, as Paul confirms in Romans 5:12. And yet, he confides to us the mystery of the Rapture in 1^st Corinthians 15:50-53, and in the process, he shares the necessity of the resurrection.

God simply does not permit our natural, flesh-and-blood bodies to enter there. (That does raise a good question as to where Elijah and Enoch are currently existing, since neither of them died….) I cannot give you a solid answer to that question, but I can say, authoritatively, that at least as a general rule, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.”

So, one way or another, we have to “get past death” to arrive before the throne. And, as a general rule, all of us achieve that, as believers, simply by physically dying. Death separates our immaterial parts, (soul and spirit) from our material part…our physical, mortal body: the vehicle in which we travel Planet Earth.

But, here in this passage, Paul unveils a “mystery:” something that God previously had hidden, but which He is now allowing Paul to reveal.

**We Shall Not All Die, but We Shall All be Changed!**

The necessity of taking on immortality is the real hurdle. Usually, we do that, as believers, by dying, and inheriting immortality as a direct result of our position “In Christ.” But at the end of the Church Age, (which is simply a “parenthesis” between the 69^th and 70^th “weeks” of Daniel’s prophecy: See Daniel 9:23-27) something unusual occurs. God has chosen to remove all His followers at once: All those in Christ, both the living and the dead. We have read about that, recently, in 1^st Thessalonians 4:13-18. I encouraged you all to memorize that passage.

Why is this Transformation so Important?

This is the way that God is able to defeat the strength of Death. God said in Isaiah 25:8 “He shall swallow up Death in Victory…” And the Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul, said, “⁵⁴So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

On that day, we will see God’s victory over death, in our own lives. But, if we look back and read 1^st Corinthians 15:26, we can see that Death will be the last enemy destroyed. And God will bring about that final victory at the Great White Throne judgment, when He will cast Death and Hell into the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:14)

The Sting of Death is Sin

Hebrews 2:15 points out that the fear of death has enslaved us all (to one degree or another) all our lives. An unbeliever might argue, saying, “But that is just the natural instinct for self-preservation! Even animals feel this!” And that may be true, but humans can choose to deny their instinct for self-preservation, and sacrifice themselves to save another, or they may commit suicide, because they are more fearful of life than of death.

But we humans have a problem, which the animals do not share. It is the awareness that we are guilty sinners. God has condemned the entire Human Race to eternal judgment. Unless we have received God’s only provision for redemption, that fear underlies all other fears. We recognize that God is the Eternal, Righteous Judge, and that we do not measure up to His Righteousness. Romans 3:23 confirms this truth, saying “For ALL have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.” (That is why Adam and Eve fled from the voice of the LORD, as He was walking in the Garden in the cool of the day. They knew they were guilty.

How Did God Remove The Sting of Death?

But God says that in securing our salvation, and guaranteeing our resurrection, He has removed the “sting of Death,” and removed the “strength of Sin,” by fulfilling the Law on our behalf. Galatians 2:19 says, “I, through the Law am dead to the Law, that I might live unto God.”

Jesus completely fulfilled the righteous judgment of God on our behalf, by dying as our representative. The moment you trusted in Jesus as your Savior, the Holy Spirit placed you into the Body of Christ. And by doing so, He permanently identified you with Jesus in His perfect life, His death, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension. (Romans 6:1-5; Ephesians 2:6) In fact, He says we are already seated in the throne with Jesus. (Wow!)

So, What Effect Ought That Truth to Have in Our Daily Lives?

The first effect it truly ought to have, in 1^st Corinthians 15:57,is that we should be able to give fervent thanks to God for the victory that He brought about and which He gives to us, through Jesus! If you want to see how that victory is applied to your life, read 1^st John 5:4, 5. He says He has applied His victory to us through faith. And by that faith, He says that we have overcome the world. Does that mean that I will always “FEEL” victorious? No, it does not!

Feelings are not a reliable reflection or indication of Reality! Paul said (2^nd Corinthians 1:8) that during some of the trials he and his entourage went through, they “…despaired of life itself.” That does not sound like “feeling victorious!” But the reality… Thesimple fact, is that Jesus has already secured the Victory at the Cross! And our victory over sin and death is secure…in Him!

How Should We Then Live?

To begin with, as verse 57 pointed out, the giving of thanks should characterize our lives. We should be the most grateful people on Earth, regardless of our other circumstances, as we have already received Eternal Life.

Together, we recently read in 1^st John 5:11-13, that we not only already have eternal life, but God wants us to know that we already have eternal life. We are not “waiting to find out” whether we “made the team.” Ephesians 2:6 says we are already seated in the Throne in Heaven with Him.

**And Verse 58 Says What The Result Should Be:**

⁵⁸Therefore, (as a direct result of the Resurrection) my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Steadfast: Firm, not wavering in Mind or action.
Unmoveable: Not affected by the actions or arguments of the World around us.
Always abounding in the Work of the Lord: Our lives belong to Him, so it makes sense that our primary objectives should match His primary objectives.

Jesus’s Example

In John 4:34, Jesus said, “My food is to do the Will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His Work.” This is a clear picture of “what motivated Jesus.” This was the focus of His life. It makes sense that if we are His disciples, our focus should be the same as His.

Give this some thought: A baby can’t be a disciple: he or she has not learned to walk, yet, or at least not reliably. Discipleship is what we are supposed to grow into, and not dawdle around about it. Ephesians 4:11-17 says we are to grow up into Him and not be tossed around by every new thing we hear, but rather, to be stable in our walk with Him. Think about the following:

A baby cannot walk securely: Babies are very wobbly and unstable…they fall easily.
Babies cannot talk clearly, and have very limited understanding to draw upon in talking.
Babies cannot dress themselves: They need someone else to clothe them.
A Baby cannot clean himself up when he has made a mess of any kind.
Babies have not learned enough about the world they live in to be able to make good decisions and stay safe.

What is the Problem, Here?

There is nothing “wrong” with any of the above things, when the person in question is a baby: But babies are not supposed to remain babies. We are called to grow up:

We are called to learn to walk with Jesus.
As we learn the Word of God, we learn to talk: to speak His words clearly.
As we grow, we learn to clothe ourselves in the armor of God. (Babies can’t use armor.)
We go to 1^st John 1:9 and we confess our sins, so that God can cleanse us.
We learn the principles of Life and Godliness, and we make decisions guided by God.

All of these “parallels” to normal human children are also realities in the Normal Christian Life. If a human child fails to learn the things we just listed, we are concerned because they are not progressing in a healthy way. We take them to a physician to find out why they are not developing at a normal pace. But, we should be even more concerned that believers are not learning to function as disciples. When a believer has no hunger for God’s Word, or for fellowship with other believers, there is something amiss.

Make it Personal!

We can examine our own lives and ask ourselves where we fit in: Am I walking with Jesus? Am I able to share the Grace of God coherently with others? Can I put on the Armor of God, (and do I know how to use it?) Do I quickly recognize sin in my life and immediately confess it to the Lord, so as to restore fellowship? (Or do I usually “wallow in it” for a while?) Finally, how do I make decisions? Have I learned the principles of God’s values well enough that they guide my thoughts and plans and His Word guides what I do and the choices I make?

All of these things result from Jesus’s Resurrection, but they also directly result from the reality Jesus accomplished at the Cross, and of your identification with Him.

Give these things some thought. God asks all of us to take it seriously.

Lord Jesus, raise us up to walk with You as Your true Disciples. Help us to set aside the traps and deceptive treasures of babyhood and seize upon the freedom and the true treasures and rewards of Discipleship.

March 18, 2026March 18, 2026

Join Us In A Walk Through Galatians (Part 1)

A Walk Through Galatians Part 1

© Lee Tankersley
(Part 1: Chapter 1 verses 1-10)

Today I want to start by thanking the LORD for all he has done for us, and take a deeper look into my favorite (and in my opinion one of the most powerful) books in the Bible, that I feel doesn’t get referenced enough: A letter that was written to the churches in the Roman province of Galatia, which is present-day Turkey.

I have read this Letter by Paul to the Galatians numerous times, and it is where I go to see the love that our Father has for us. In doing this message and study, my hope is that this letter can become just as powerful to someone that was in (or may be in) the same position when it was revealed to me. What do I mean, you might ask: Well, let’s go back to not long after I put my faith in Jesus Christ…

Back toward the beginning, probably around the one-year mark, I had been eagerly taking in so much information through videos and podcasts along with reading my Bible. But I would quite frequently come across people saying things that would tell me I need to be doing this or that, trying to convince me Jesus wasn’t enough, and the lines began to blur. I noticed myself becoming confused and feeling lost. So many people have an opinion on what they think we need to be doing to keep, earn, or not lose our salvation or earn favor with God.

It all came to a head one Wednesday evening at Bible study, I was waiting for the moment that Chet would ask if anyone has any Bible question, the time came and I asked my question… if I remember right it was me processing Romans 4-8, not understanding the law and its purpose and trying to figure out what “I” should be doing now that I have been saved. What I got from everyone after I “hijacked” another one of the Bible studies was nothing but love and compassion from all of you and the teaching from Chet.

On my walk home I began to pray… asking if God could just help make things clear to me or even give me a revelation of some sort. I got home and set down my bag and pulled out my Bible and opened it up to the letter to Galatians, at that time I have probably read this book a couple of times up to this point, but this time it hit different: So I started reading this letter from Paul, and for the next hour, with tears filling my eyes, I was filled with the confident hope that Jesus is enough, restoring my freedom from the slavery that our LORD has purchased us out of.

This book that I have read many times now is my favorite book, and with the encouragement, guidance, and love that many have for me, I want to share this letter with all of you, for those who may feel lost or confused, I ask to just listen with an open mind and let Jesus give you a new heart.

I invite you to grab a Bible, your Bible if you have one with you. Let’s read Galatians 1:1-10. I read from the NLT: You can follow along with me with whatever translation you like.

(Read Galatians 1: 1-10)
¹ This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. ²All the brothers and sisters here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia. ³ May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. ⁴Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. ⁵ All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

⁶ I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News ⁷ but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

⁸ Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. ⁹ I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.
¹⁰ Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.

Okay, there is already a lot to unpack here. Where do I start… This letter that Paul penned for the LORD is one of the first, if not the first, letters that Paul wrote to the churches and I think it is fundamental in the understanding of salvation and security. There are really 6 books in the Bible that I look at for our fundamentals, and we may remember the phrase “Go Eat Pop Corn” being Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, with that I have added two other. First and second Thessalonians closing it out, I added “once today twice Tomorrow” to the end of the “Go Eat Pop Corn” to help me remember where the fundamentals are.

Being in amateur boxing it was crucial that I learned the fundamentals before my coach would even consider letting me get placed in the ring for a fight. No matter how much I tried to convince him and talk myself up that I was ready, he made sure I was prepared. It probably took 3 years of training before I had that first fight, learning footwork, protecting myself, conditioning, hitting a speed and heavy bags, and sparring with some of my team who were all much younger than me at that point of time and one that was a bit older but had the accolades of playing college football.

I tell ya, that is a humbling experience. If it wasn’t for my coach being adamant in the fundamentals and making sure I was well prepared I could have gotten seriously hurt. I see that, and I thank him now.

And that is what the Bible does for us, being the word of God as declared in 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.” It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. Teaching us the fundamentals of our faith, so when we are in the world we know where our foundation is and can spot the lies or attacks as they come, and they will come.

¹ This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

The letter to Galatians is understood to be written just after Paul’s first mission with Barnabas as referenced in Acts 13: 2 – 14: 28, placing it just before the Jerusalem Council of AD 48-49 referenced in Acts 15:1- 35. Paul and Barnabas had just returned to Antioch, and Jewish Christians known as “Judaizers” began to criticize Paul’s teaching, accusing him of diluting Christianity to make it more appealing to Gentiles, saying that Christians needed to be circumcised and follow all the Jewish laws and customs to be saved: Basically they were saying they had to become Jews before becoming Christians.

And some of these Judaizers were following Paul and Barnabas through their time in Galatia. Paul wrote this letter to combat the response he received. Paul explains that his apostleship was from Jesus: Not to elevate his apostleship above the original 12 but to show it rested on the same basis as theirs. If they are to question Paul then then they should be questioning Peter, James and John along with the rest. And such questioning is ridiculous for they were all called by Jesus and God the father, and they answered to God as their final authority.

² All the brothers and sisters here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia.

Paul is expressing that all the people who have been traveling with him stand by this, such people would have been the likes of prophets and teachers. Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen, and Saul (that we now know as Paul) listed in Acts 13:1, and that all the people reading this letter would have known from their time in Galatia. The names here highlight the diversity of the group, those of which come from different races, backgrounds, wealth, and education.

When we start excluding people because they are not like us or they have not met certain requirements as Paul is combating in this letter, we are not representing the teachings of Jesus. The only requirement I can point to is in John 6:28-29 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

The more we understand the gospel and embrace God’s vision for the body of Christ, the more we will appreciate and understand these differences and not allow them to divide us. At that point we will be able to say from our hearts that we love each other.

³ May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Now Paul has arrived at his greeting that he starts all of his letters he is known for, and they are always in the order of grace and peace, because you can’t have peace without grace. Let’s dive into the Greek a little deeper for these two words. For grace the Greek word is charis (pronounced khar’-ece). It describes as unmerited or undeserved favor. And peace comes from the Greek word eirēnē (pronounced i-ray’-nay), representing the state of tranquility, harmony, and order. Paul’s letters always tie them to God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ from which they come.

⁴ Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. ⁵ All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

Paul is now pointing out to the Galatian churches that this has been the plan all along, forgiveness and salvation comes through Jesus’s finished work on the cross. No amount of good deeds or following traditions can supplement that: It is a gift we receive through faith that Jesus has done enough to rescue us from the coming judgement that is declared on this world.

You may not even believe in any of this, and I could say to you that I don’t believe the sky is blue or 2+2=4, but that doesn’t make it “not true.” Even being ignorant of it is not an excuse: that even applies in the world and culture we live in today, and to say you were unaware will not save you from a ticket or possibly jail time.

Go read for yourself Romans 1:18 – 3:23. The case has been made! And you will see in Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. I ask you to humble yourselves and to actually read all the scripture I bring up for yourselves. Don’t just listen to what I say: Go read it! So, Paul is absolutely right to say, “All glory goes to God our merciful Judge and Savior. Amen!”

⁶ I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News ⁷ but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

As Paul, Barnabas and the others traveled through the province of Galactica, they already were experiencing conflict by the Judaizers who were following them, trying to undermine the good news that Salvation is a gift. They were saying faith in Christ was not enough, putting the burden of requirements and traditions of the old covenant and causing confusion.

We can see in Philippians 3:2-11 while Paul was in prison, (which was written 10 + years later than this letter to the Galatians) that it is something Paul dealt with throughout his ministry. and it still goes on today. Whether the Judaizers were deliberately trying to undermine Paul out of jealousy, or a sincere love for the richness of Jewish heritage and the laws of Moses, or the belief that one must become Jewish before becoming Christian is not known, but a twisted or distorted version of the truth is harder to spot then a straight up lie. Jesus has made the gift of Salvation available to all people, not just the Jews.

Paul says in Ephesians 4:14 “Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.”

We need to be careful, so we don’t fall for the same traps: Whether it’s because they don’t understand what the Bible teaches, or they think they know better, or they just reject the truth. God has provided only one way to be forgiven of sin and to inherit eternal life: By believing in Jesus finished work on the cross. Some religions even say that there are many paths to God: In a free society people have the right to their religious opinions, but this doesn’t guarantee their ideas are right. God does not accept human religion as a substitute for faith in Christ.

⁸ Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. ⁹ I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.

These are some harsh statements being made by Paul, but look at what is at stake, someone’s salvation. Paul says that God’s curse should fall on anyone, even an angel from heaven, if an angel came preaching another good news he wouldn’t be from heaven no matter how he appeared. In 2 Corinthians 11:14 -15 Paul warns that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 “But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.”

Paul also extends the curse to include himself if he should ever twist the good news. Paul’s message must never change, because the truth of the Good News never changes. When we add to the Good News we are basically saying “Jesus gave it a good shot but let me show him how it’s done.”

I know that I can look at my life and see that I can’t even follow my own rules that I come up with for my day-to-day life let alone do them all the time. And if I’m being honest with myself, half the time I don’t want to.

Now if you are thinking that I am saying to go do whatever… you are severely mistaken and is not the right heart attitude to have, Paul says in Romans 6:1-2 “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”

Now if you have any issues with what Paul has been saying then you have issues with Peter. But Peter “the rock” has declared in 2 Peter 3:16 “…speaking of these things in all of his (Paul’s) letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.” And if you have an issue with that then I would say you have an issue with Jesus.

^“10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”

Now Paul makes an important statement here, and I will walk the same path to defend the good news about Christ.

Now to close, I will be going to Matthew 23. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

Matthew 23:13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.”

Matthew 23:15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!”

Matthew 23:27-31 “²⁷What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. ²⁸ Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. ³⁰ Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’ ³¹ “But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.”

Matthew 23:33 “Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?”

Let that sink in, and ask yourselves “How will I escape the judgment of hell?”

Let’s give glory to God and pray.

Why Did Moses’s Skin Glow?

Exodus 34:29-35 (Read it!) Compare 2nd Corinthians 3:7-18

Introduction:

But, Why did Moses’s Face Glow, or Shine?

The Apostles Glowed in a Different Way

Matthew 5:14-16

Where Does the Light Originate?

What is the Result of the Light?

What About Israel?

What About Us?

But, What about Us?

Why might we fail to shine?

We are Servants of the New Testament

2nd Corinthians 2:14-3:6

Introduction:

Does God Cause Us to Triumph in Christ?

Against Satan:

Against the World:

Against the Flesh:

What Is The Result Of That Spiritual Triumph?

What Does it Mean, to “Corrupt the Word of God?”

2nd Corinthians Chapter 3

No Self-Commendation, and No Self Condemnation:

What did John the Baptist and Jesus preach?

So, What is Our Job?

The Gospel Is A Cause For Rejoicing

Introduction:

The Gospel Is A Cause For Rejoicing, Both To The Speaker And The Hearers.

The New International Version Renders It This Way:

What About Correction, When It Matters?

Personal Example:

Paul’s Original Intent

No Double Meanings: No Ambiguity

Who Builds The Relationships Between Teachers And Their Hearers?

Why Did Paul Not Visit Corinth Again, Sooner?

What About Here At True Hope?

What Is God’s Plan Of Evangelism?

Introduction:

This is God’s Plan of Evangelism

Normal Propagation

Forced Propagation

What Happened in Jerusalem?

The Joy of Christ

The Result In Our Lives

How We Choose God’s Plan

Acts 16:6-11

Being “In” The Way: (On The Path: “On Task“)

What About Us?

The Results?

A Missionary Letter From Paul

1st Corinthians 16:5-18

Introduction:

Burdett Letter

Megan Lewis Letter

Paul Sent A Few Missionary Letters, Too:

NLT Version Reads Very Much Like A Modern Prayer Letter.

Other Leaders

King James Version, In Contrast:

So, Where Was Paul?

Historical And Geographic Notes:

Paul’s Plans

What Cities Might He Visit In Macedonia? (See The Vision In Acts 16:9)

Paul’s Priorities

Paul’s Other Concerns

The Lives Of The Corinthian Believers

How The Believers Were Going To Treat The Leaders That God Sent To Them

Timothy

Stephanas, And Others Like Him

How Does It Apply?

How Does It Apply to Us?

Why did Jesus Weep?

John 11:32-37 (Cp. Romans 12:15; Hebrews 4:15, 16)

Introduction

Get The Whole Context!

What about Death itself?

Can God Raise The Dead?

But; Can Jesus Raise the Dead?

How Can We Experience Eternal Life?

Seeing the Dead Raised

How does it Help Us, to Know that Jesus Wept?

Exodus 34:29-35 (Read it!) Compare 2^nd Corinthians 3:7-18

**But, Why did Moses’s Face Glow, or Shine?**

**But, What about Us?**

**Does God Cause Us to Triumph in Christ?**

**What Is The Result Of That Spiritual Triumph?**

**What Does it Mean, to “Corrupt the Word of God?”**

2^nd Corinthians Chapter 3

**No Self-Commendation, and No Self Condemnation:**

**Why Did Paul Not Visit Corinth Again, Sooner?**

**Being “In” The Way: (On The Path: “On Task“)**

1^st Corinthians 16:5-18

**So, Where Was Paul?**

**How The Believers Were Going To Treat The Leaders That God Sent To Them**

**Can God Raise The Dead?**

1^st Corinthians 16:1-4

2^nd Corinthians 8:1-5

2^nd Corinthians 9:1-15

1^st Corinthians 15:50-58

**We Shall Not All Die, but We Shall All be Changed!**

**And Verse 58 Says What The Result Should Be:**