Paul
the apostle asked four questions of the Corinthian church members:
“Am I not an apostle? am I not free?
have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the
Lord?”,
and in chapter nine and verse two of First
Corinthians, Paul shared concerning “the
seal of” his “apostleship”
where we read:
If I
be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you:
for
the seal of mine apostleship are you in the Lord.
The
verse begins, “If
I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you:”
Paul began
with the word, “If”
which means “whether” “I be not
an apostle”
or “Paul was not a delegate, messenger and one sent forth with
order specifically applied to the twelve apostles of Christ” “unto
others” which
means “other people”, “yet”
or “nevertheless and notwithstanding” “doubtless”
which means “indeed, truly and at least” “I
am to you”
or “Paul was to the Corinthian church members”. Even if the
church members did not know or believe that Paul was “an
apostle”
to other people, they certainly could not deny that he was “an
apostle”
to them.
The
verse continues, “for
the seal of mine apostleship are you in the Lord.”.
Paul added
the words, “for” which
means “even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and
therefore” “the seal” or
“the inscription or impression made by a seal” “of
mine”
which means “Paul's” “apostleship”
which means “sending away, dismissal and release” “are
you” which
refers to the church members in Corinth “in
the Lord” or
“by and with he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he
has power of deciding; master and the name given to God the Messiah”.
The Corinthian church members were “sealed”
by Paul's “apostleship” “in the
Lord”
which demonstrated his “stamp” upon them.
When
we think through these words from Paul, we realize how important it
was to him that the Corinthians understand his position as “apostle”
over them. Paul introduced them to Jesus Christ, and the church in
Corinth was started by him. They were “sealed”
with his mark, and therefore they should have no problem with him
exercising care and concern over their condition as a church. Jesus
has given “some, apostles; and some, prophets; and
some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting
of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of
the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13),
and Paul the apostle fulfilled the Lord's calling upon his life by
reaching the Corinthians. Being “sealed” by God's Holy Spirit is
important, and the instrument He uses to bring us into the church is
as well.
Next
time Paul begins to share with the Corinthians his, “answer
to them that do examine” him,
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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