Paul the apostle shared
with the church members in Corinth how he and his companions,“would
not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble” that
came to them “in Asia”.
He told the church members he and his companions were, “pressed
out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of
life”,
and in chapter one and verse nine of
Second Corinthians, Paul shared how they, “had
the sentence of death in” themselves,
where we read:
But we had
the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in
ourselves,
but in God
which raises the dead:
The verse begins, “But
we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust
in ourselves, ...” Paul began with the word, “but”
which is a disassociation
conjunction that means what is about to be written takes precedence
over what was just stated “we had the sentence” or
“Paul and his companions answer and judicial decision” “of
death” which means “of
the separation, whether natural or violent, of the soul and the body
by which the life on earth is ended” “in ourselves” or
“within Paul and his companions”, “that we should not trust”
“that Paul and his companions
would not be persuaded by, believe or have faith” “in
ourselves” which refers to “within Paul and his companions”.
Paul and his companions expected to die from their “sufferings”
so much so they could not rely upon themselves any longer.
The verse continues, “...
but in God which raises the dead:”
Paul added the word, “but” which
is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated “in
God” which refers to “the Godhead bodily
and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and
the Holy Spirit” “which raises”
or “arouses, makes to rise, produce and appear from” “the
dead” which means “the deceased,
departed, destitute of life and inanimate”. Rather than trust in
themselves, Paul and his companion's “trust and faith” was in
“God Almighty” who makes “the dead”
“rise from the grave”.
When we think through
these words from Paul, we understand how he put his “trust” in
“God” rather than in “himself and his companions”.
When affliction and suffering comes, there is no better place to put
our confidence than in God, and if we attempt to rely upon or put
“faith” in ourselves or others, our “faith” falls short.
Jesus Christ knows we shall suffer “afflictions and tribulations”,
and when we do, we should remember there is none greater than the
“God” who “raises the dead” within whom to put our
“trust”.
Next
time Paul tells the
church members how God, “delivered
us from so great a death”
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”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" 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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