4:7 But we have
this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of
God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not
crushed; we are perplexed, but not in
despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not
destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord
Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our
body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’
sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal
flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.
I'm not sure what has been keeping you busy lately but on top
of being a pastor and a dad etc... we've been planting the garden. The potatoes
we had left from last year's harvest are almost all in the ground now. They
will die so many others can live. When Jesus came He knew why He was here. He
carried with Him every day the knowledge that He would die. His death served
two primary purposes. It satisfied the penalty for sin and it demonstrated the
truth that God is love. When Heaven went that far to save us all doubt was
removed that God was anything but love.
However there is something different Paul is talking about
here. It's a different kind of death. It connects back to the man in Corinth
they wouldn't forgive. They wouldn't forgive him because their pain was more
important to them than his recovery.
That's the death Paul is talking about, the death of self.
Jesus demonstrated every day of His life here that others were more valuable to
Him than His own comfort, desires, or even His personal safety. He went to
dangerous places and confronted dangerous people all for the sake of others. He
was dead to self but alive toward others. Their needs were the very best of His
heart.
Paul was trying to explain that this same Spirit of
self-sacrifice beat in Him for their sakes. Death was working in him and his
companions so that they could bring life to others. This is the Spirit of
Christ. This is the essence of love. This is true living.
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