The
apostle Paul shared with the Corinthians how he ran, “not
as uncertainly”,
and he fought,
“not as one that beats the air”
because he was to “obtain”
“an incorruptible crown” for
sharing the “gospel of Jesus
Christ”.
In chapter nine and verse twenty-seven of
First Corinthians, Paul told
the Corinthians, “I keep under my
body, and bring it into subjection” “lest”
he “should be a castaway”
where we read:
But I
keep under my body, and bring it
into subjection: lest that by any means,
when I
have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
The
verse begins, “But
I keep under my body, and bring it
into subjection:” Paul
began with the words, “But”
which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated “I
keep under” or
“Paul gives intolerable annoyance and wears out”
“my body”
which means “Paul's corpse or living body”, “and
bring it into subjection”
which means “brought under severity and subject to stern and rigid
discipline”. Paul kept his physical “body”
under strict
and “severe” discipline as he shared the gospel.
The
verse goes on to say, “lest
that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be
a castaway” Paul
added the word, “lest that by any
means”
which refers to “that perhaps and somehow”, “when
I have preached”
which means “at the time when Paul heralded, proclaimed and
published the gospel” “to others”
which means “toward other people”, “I
myself” or
“Paul himself” “should be”
which means “” “a castaway”
or “not standing the test or approved, unproved, spurious and
reprobate”. Paul kept “under” his
“body”
and brought it “into subjection”
because if he didn't, he might be “disqualified” or “unproven”
himself.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we see how serious he was
concerning being “disciplined” in his body. He felt he might be
“disqualified” or “castaway” if he did not “keep
under” his “body”. The “gospel of Jesus Christ”
is a serious, eternal matter, and the souls of people lie in the
balance for “everlasting life” or “everlasting death”, and
those who “promote and proclaim” it must continually “strive”
to “keep” themselves “under” or “bring”
themselves “into subjection” that the “gospel” not be
reproached. This requires the help of the Holy Spirit of God, and
those who are wise shall like Paul rely upon God Almighty to exercise
the “discipline” we all need.
Next
time we begin a new chapter and see Paul share about, “how
that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the
sea”,
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment