Paul
the apostle told the Corinthian church members that he knew “nothing
by”
himself, and he questioned, “am I not
hereby justified?” He
concluded, “he that judges”
him “is the Lord”,
and in chapter four and verse five of First
Corinthians, Paul told the Corinthians to
“judge nothing before the time”
where we read:
Therefore
judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will
bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest
the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of
God.
The
verse begins, “Therefore
judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come,...”
Paul began
with the word, “Therefore” which
is a conclusion word that means “insomuch that, so then and
wherefore” “judge nothing”
or “determine, separate, put asunder, pick out, select, choose,
approve or esteem not one thing” “before”
which means “in front of or prior to” “the
time”
which refers to “a due measure, opportune or seasonable period of
time”, “until”
which means “continued up to a certain time” “the
Lord” or
“he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of
deciding; master and the title given to God the Messiah” “come”
which means “appears, arises and shows himself”. Paul concluded
that the church members were not to “judge”
anything before the proper time, and that “time”
was when the “Lord Jesus”
comes again.
The
verse continues, “...who
both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make
manifest the counsels of the hearts:”.
Paul added
the words, “who both” which
means “that also, even and indeed” “will
bring to light” or
“shall shine upon, enlighten and illuminate” “the
hidden things”
which refers to “the concealed, private and secret things” “of
darkness”
which literally means “darkened eyesight or blindness” and
metaphorically means “ignorance respecting divine things and human
duties and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality together with
their consequent misery in hell, “and
will make manifest”
or “will expose to view, make known and shown” “the
counsels”
which means “the volition, advise and purpose” “of
the hearts”
or “the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the
thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes,
endeavors ”. When Jesus appears, He will expose not only the
“secret and private things”, but also the “thoughts, passions
and desires” within the “souls” of men. When the “Lord
Jesus”
comes again, He will “illuminate” what has been in “secret”
and “expose” things which are in the “souls” of people.
Finally
the verse says, “... and then shall every man have praise
of God.” Paul ended this verse
with these words, “and then”
or “at that time” “shall every man”
or “will each person whether male or female” “have
praise” which means “receive
and begin to have approbation, commendation and laudation” “of
God” who is the Godhead bodily
and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and
the Holy Spirit”. At the time Jesus comes again and illuminates and
exposes both “darkness”
and “the counsels of the heart”,
people shall then “receive commendation and laudation” “of
God”.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we see how God has His “time”
for sending Jesus back again, and He purposes to have Jesus “judge”
both the things which are in “darkness” and “in the
counsels of the hearts” or “souls” of men when He comes. He
desires to have “every person” to “receive praise of”
Him, and when Jesus comes, He shall see that it will happen to those
who “believe in, trust in, rely upon and cling to” Him. Since
these things of God are true we should align ourselves with God's
salvation plan and receive Jesus Christ as our “Savior and Lord”.
Next
time Paul shares how “in a
figure transferred to” himself
“and to Apollos for” the
church members' “sake”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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