Episode Synopsis:

I am reluctant to say that one portion of Scripture is more important than others. But there are biblical passages packed with theological content and which have stirred much debate among the people of God across time, as does our text for this episode, 2 Corinthians 5:14-6:2. In this section, Paul lays out what might just be the big picture thesis statement for Paul’s Gentile mission–and perhaps even for the entire New Testament–1 Corinthians 5:19- “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” Christ’s redemptive mission is made clear–he came to save sinners, not help us become better people nor transform culture. He also gave to the church our marching orders–preach the message of reconciliation, the basis for all Christian hope–the knowledge that God is no longer angry with us.

Reconciliation is an important matter for Paul. The term refers to removing the ground of hostility between two parties so that they might be reconciled. In this case, the human race, fallen in Adam, is estranged from the holy God because of the guilt of our sins. But Paul’s emphasis falls upon the fact that we have been reconciled to God through the saving work of Christ. This raises questions about the nature and extent of the atonement–a major point of contention between Calvinists and those who hold to some version of a universal atonement. How can Calvinists affirm that Christ died for the elect only when Paul says Jesus died for the world? But then how can those holding to a universal atonement (as do Arminians) affirm that Christ’s death does not avail for all those for whom he died? People can and do perish eternally (on this view), after Christ has died for them. We’ll discuss the debate over the nature and extent of the atonement in this episode because our text raises these important questions.

A second issue raised by Paul is eschatology. His “two Adams” doctrine (cf. Romans 5:12-21) and his eschatology of new creation culminating in a day of final judgment is set out in these verses. In Paul’s federal or representative categories, Adam represents the entirety of the human race (all), while Christ represents those truly in the new covenant (for our sake). Paul ties the new creation to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (v. 17) and sees it as a present reality to be fully realized on the day of salvation, when our Lord Jesus returns to raise the dead, judge the world, and usher in the fullness of new creation–a new heaven and earth. This leaves no room for a future millennial age as many assume.

When Paul speaks of a favorable time before the day of salvation, he’s referring to the mission of the church as assigned here. Christians are ambassadors for God, and are given the assignment of taking the message of reconciliation (the cross of Christ) to the ends of the earth. Paul’s instructions not only define the church’s mission and evangelistic endeavors, but he also defines the church’s message– “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.” Any message proclaimed by the church other than that specifically assigned by Paul will inevitably reflect pagan influences such as those against which the Corinthians found themselves struggling. We are not to be gospel-peddlers, but preachers of Christ and him crucified!

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

C. S. Lewis brought a biblical expression from Paul into the broader evangelical world in his influential 1941 sermon “The Weight of Glory,” based upon 2 Corinthians 4:17. Lewis points out that glory, as used by Paul, is a not a ‘flimsy” thing, but something substantial and abiding. Unlike the shadows of affliction, the denseness of heavenly glory is something real and solid. Since his sermon was widely read and discussed, Lewis made the phrase “the weight of glory” one of the most significant and well-known themes in 2 Corinthians, along with other well-known phrases from Paul, such as “jars of clay” and “he made him who knew no sin to be sin.” The former is Paul’s description of human weakness (which we covered last time), while the latter is tied to Paul’s discussion of Christ’s reconciling work upon the cross–a matter which we will address next time (2 Corinthians 5:21).

If our bodies are mere jars of clay or tents, as Paul puts it, then our outer selves (our bodies) are destined to grow old and eventually fail–as a clay jar crumbles and as a tent wears out. Paul uses Greek categories (which his audience would understand) to speak of an inner and outer self, yet without the dualism typical of Platonic philosophy. Paul sees such things through the lens of Christian eschatology–this age and the age to come, as well as through the categories of seen (our current existence) and the unseen (our heavenly existence). The unseen remains just over the horizon where we cannot see nor experience it until we enter the Lord’s presence.

While we experience all sorts of afflictions and troubles in this life, Paul’s point in our text for this episode (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10) is that our inner self is simultaneously being renewed in anticipation of the weight of glory–even as our outer self wastes away. Despite what Paul has been through in his dealing with the Corinthians, the difficulties he has faced throughout the Gentile mission must be seen in light of the glory yet to come. Since the Christian knows that our faith is grounded in the fact of Christ’s cross and empty tomb, so the Christian hope is immediate entrance upon death into the presence of God (ensured by the indwelling Holy Spirit) followed by our own resurrection from the dead at the end of the age. So even as we live this life in the midst of death, we anticipate the “weight of glory” yet to come since we are given a foretaste even now through the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

In chapter 4 of 2 Corinthians, Paul addresses a subject no one likes or wants to talk about–the frailty and weakness of the human body. We have all seen images of great athletes with robust and fit bodies–the Greeks and Romans idolized the human body in their art and sculpture. But think of those magnificent bodies at their peak (say in their 20-40s) in contrast to those instances where we see the same person much older–with weight gain, joint and muscle deterioration, baldness, crepey skin and wrinkles, and the onset of illnesses and various maladies. That is what Paul is getting at here. We are all “jars of clay” destined to die. This is the inevitable outcome of Adam’s fall into sin.

Given his experience as an apostle, preaching the cross of Christ (as unpopular a message as one can find in the ancient world), Paul knows what it is like to suffer for Christ’s sake, as well as sacrifice his own body and health in the service of Christ’s church. Paul is not a masochist nor a whiner. But he has suffered greatly for the cause of Christ, especially in his work in Corinth–a church where many now belittle his work because of his physical weakness. We get hints in this letter of the emotional toll this took on Paul, as well as the impact of illness and bodily trauma. Paul recounts these matters to explain to the Corinthians why things have taken the course they have.

Paul is not a stoic who strives to “keep calm and carry on.” He is not a peddler of God’s word. Paul trusts in God’s providence through the power of the resurrected Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit to bring about deliverance from the source of all of these problems–human sin. Paul reminds the Corinthians (and us) that eternal things are indeed ultimately far more important than temporal things. The cross is a divinely-revealed message which speaks to these ultimate concerns, whereas Greek and Roman paganism is a mere figment of the sinful human imagination and does not–indeed cannot. In fact, Paul attributes the latter to the work of Satan–the blinder of minds and the thief of souls.

In response to the challenges he faces in Corinth, Paul does not stress fitness, diet, supplements, or exercise as we are apt to do and which are, no doubt, important to our quality of life. Knowing that bodily frailness will eventually overcome us all–Paul directs the Corinthians (and us) to the sure and certain hope of the resurrection and entrance into the glory of God. We may be afflicted and suffer now, but the glories of Christ and eternal life in his presence is our future.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/