Knowing the Terror of the Lord 2 Corinthians 5:11

Paul the apostle shared with the Corinthian church members how, “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ”, because before the throne each person shall, “receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad”. In chapter five and verse ten of Second Corinthians, Paul told the church members what he and his companions do, “knowing...the terror of the Lord”, where we read:

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God;

and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

The verse begins, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;” Paul began with the word, “knowing” which means “perceiving, noticing, discerning and discovering” “therefore” or “accordingly, consequently and these things being so” “the terror” which means “the fear, dread, alarm and fright” “of the Lord” or “of he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master and the title given to God the Messiah”, “we persuade” or “Paul and his companions induce by words to believe, make friends of, win favor of, gain good will of and seek to win” “men” which refers to “human beings whether male or female”. Paul and his companions knew the “awesomeness” and “fear” of God and therefore sought to win people to a relationship with Him.

The verse continues, “but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences”. 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 “” “we are made manifest” which means “Paul and his companions were made visible, known, exposed and recognized” “unto God” which refers to “toward the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “and I trust” or “and Paul hopefully had confidence in” “also” which means “even as or indeed” “are made manifest” or “made visible, known, exposed and recognized” “in your consciences” which means “in the church members' souls as distinguishing between what is morally good and bad”. Paul and his companions we openly known unto God which translated into being “known” by the church members' own “souls”.

When we consider these words of Paul, we discover his determination to “persuade” people concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is to be a judgment of God, and He is an “awesome” or “fearful” God to those who do not know Him. Paul and his companions were “revealed” unto God whom they “feared in awe” and also “exposed” to the church members. Because of their message with words and actions, the Corinthians should have been affected by them. Jesus Christ shall be the ultimate judge, and when we consider being“manifest” before Him, do we really have in mind, “the terror of the Lord” for ourselves and others?

Next time Paul tells the church members how, “we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then,

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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