2 Corinthians, 6:1-10

All right, again, thanks for your flexibility this morning. We'll see how this works out, and we'll just see. See, I'm teaching next week, so you're forced into this again next week. So any conclusions will have to delay for two weeks, and we'll see what Hal and Jim do with the seating arrangement to follow. All right.

The text today is 2 Corinthians chapter 6, and we've got a really big task ahead of us. That's 10 verses, and what makes this, I think, a little bit more difficult is the fact that much of this are single words that describe a character of the Lord Jesus Christ acted out in the believer. And so we could dwell, actually, we could spend 10 or 15 minutes on each of these characteristics of the outworking of the Holy Spirit in us. But we're not going to do that.

Your handout is long, because I've attempted to exemplify each of these attributes and or contrasts, actually. In the last three verses, we see nine contrasts. And those are fun. Those contrasts are kind of fun to work through. And again, it'd be neat to have a whole day just on the contrast. But this is the assignment. And we're going to try to heat it today in terms of getting through it. But nevertheless, this is a. Number five, you get flexibility. Well, that's right, but you're coming back to teach 5.10, right?

And that's in three weeks? Or two weeks? So, I mean, I think we need to get through chapter 6 today and next week, so if we don't finish 1 through 10 today, I'll go ahead and we'll begin where we left off next week. But you don't want to delay us another whole week, do you?

Okay, well let's just see how the Lord takes us through here. Alright, verse Let's read the text first, and then I think we'll set up what's before us. Doug, can you read the text for us? Can you do that? 1-10, Chapter 6. Greetings to King James. Fine.

As workers together with him, he teaches also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. For he said, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Give no offense in anything that the ministry be not explained, but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults and labors, in watchings and fasting, by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by love on fame, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report, as deceivers and yet true, as unknown and yet well-known, as dying and behold we live, as chastened and not killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things.

Thank you Doug. You see what we're about here? I mean, we've got all these attributes or characteristics that really represent the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and then we've got these contrasts, which I think are, again, challenging and fun to kind of work through. So let's get going here.

Verse 1, and this is the interlinear Greek, and working together also we beseech not to no purpose the grace of God to receive you. What do you think of when we're talking about working together? Is this just the, we're his co-laborers? Is this simply the body of Christ working together? But the with him is in italics, right? And notice in the Interlinear Greek, in working together also we beseech, not there in the original Greek. But the implication, I think, is appropriate in the King James.

And let's turn briefly to 1 Corinthians 3.9. We're not going to look at all the verses today. Some of them I've actually put in a handout, so we won't have time to look it up. But I think 3.9 is still worth looking at. Jack, do you have that? Sure. Please read it. We are laborers together with him. We are God's cultivated field. We are God's building.

Boy, isn't that something? I mean, this co-laborer isn't, you know, Hal and Harry. And it's not Lindy and Margaret. It's not Marilyn and George. I mean, this is really... If this isn't identification truth, what is it? I mean, we begin being co-laborers with the Lord Jesus Christ.

And you know, I've got a little note here that King James says, with God, and I've got a little mark through that, and it says, with all God. Is that appropriate? That should be of God, we are workers together, of God. Of God. You know, these prepositions are probably the most important part of Scripture, aren't they? Of God, in God, with Him. I don't know, I like in. That's my favorite preposition because it gives us the idea what the source of the strength is, but I think we could probably go either way there, Jack. I didn't go back and look at that preposition carefully.

And notice what else that were really called to in terms of this ministry. Just what we looked at, actually what Jim looked at last week, look at verse 20. Wayne, come on up, Sue, come on. Yeah, you can protest formally later actually. So I'm prepared for next week. This is our new format today. I was just told by my brothers in the Lord that I actually have two weeks on verses 1-10. Boy, that's nice. We've got more time for discussion.

Let's look at what Jim taught last week in 2 Corinthians 5.20. I think that's also a powerfully related verse, and of course in proximity in text. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. as though God did beseech you by us, we beg you in Christ's dead, be ye reconciled to God." That's where the ministry starts, isn't it? This co-laboring is not just one with the other. It's our eternal relationship that's played out in our day-to-day interactions. Co-labors. Not just one with the other, but with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Actually, beseech is actually used again, too, in 2 Corinthians 5.20.

We're not only kind of ambassadors, co-laborers, but we're beseeched to be that. And beseeched is really best translated more accurately, I think, the call to one side or aid. That has a broad application. doesn't necessarily mean I beseech you to sit down here next to me. I mean, beseeching is really kind of a verb of gathering, if you will. It's really kind of almost a semi-commandment.

God's grace in the text, working together, we're beseeched not to ignore the grace of God. In other words, we're beseeched that you also receive not the grace of God in vain. In other words, if we receive it in vain, it's worthless, is it not? What's it mean to receive God's grace in vain?

Give me an example of that. I mean, I probably do it all the time. First of all, is that an oxymoron? God's grace and vanity is not an oxymoron, but potentially, I mean it is an oxymoron, but the issue of receiving it in vain is not. Margaret? Well, I was going to say that I guess you could, if we're a believer, we already have his grace, but sometimes we just go ahead and do what we want to do, acting as if that doesn't exist. Has that ever happened to you?

Okay, that's good. I know, and she keeps telling me this too. The Lord put her in my life for good reason, I can assure you. It's kind of like the idea of Romans talks about that they suppress the truth of God and unrighteousness. I know the context there is unbelievers But I think, even as believers, that we've received the grace of God, yet at times when we walk in the flesh, I think we suppress truth, and then we walk in the flesh.

Maybe that's, we've received it, but at the bank of not appropriating it. Alright, good. Another thing is, might be to verbally say, God's grace, da-da-da-da-da-da, but yet be ignoring that in our walk, right? I mean, in other words, it's kind of the intellectual acceptance of God's grace for what it is, but we, in fact, don't heed it in the way we carry ourselves. Yeah, that's right. It's kind of a distance that we have from it, although we acknowledge it.

Yes, Wayne? That song, Living for Jesus, kind of came, but I noticed when Miguel sang it, they left out the part that says, striving to please Him. It's always like, grace is salvation is free, but now we've got to work for it. Okay. All right, good. Any other thoughts about verse 1? Let me just point out that God's grace is not to be taken lightly. We can look at these texts, but we're not going to do it now, but for your own reference, we're not to refuse it, we're not to frustrate it, which, interestingly enough, means make void.

In fact, let's turn to Galatians 2.21.

That follows one of the verses of the epitome of the walk, isn't it, Galatians 2.20? And Hal spent, what, six weeks on 2.20, Hal, when you preached on... Six months. Six months, okay. See, six weeks, huh?

But verse 21 is really a nice sequitur. It says, I do not make void or frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. It really ties into what you just said. I mean, it really does. So the grace of God is something we should not refuse. It's not something we make void or frustrate. And finally, we need to look diligently unto it. And diligently is really a command in terms of how we, in fact, heed the grace of God. This is not something we should take for granted, although grace in itself, by definition, is something that we do take for granted, because grace is endless, is it not? It's hard to put a yardstick to grace, isn't it?

But boy, we can make it void in our walk, I think, and do so probably very much on a day-to-day basis. Just putting ourselves under any law system, you can do that. I've got to please God by doing this, this, and this. Any system of law, we put ourselves under.

Yeah, Margaret, in fact, tying into that, you love that verse, don't you? 221. You know, if in fact, if righteousness comes by the law, look how powerful this verse is, then Christ is dead in vain. I mean, that follows, I'm crucified with Christ ever lest I live. I mean, but the issue is if we turn back to a law system, that really does make void the grace of God, does it not? It's kind of overwhelming. I mean, he's dead and vain. All of them suffered. So true, Sue.

I often wonder what a lot of non-Muslims do with this verse. But I don't think a lot of bodies of Christ really recognize the legal system in which they dwell. Do you think? I mean, if you went to a lot of churches this morning, they would perhaps deny the fact that they have these types of systems in place, but yet, in fact, from the perspective of the person coming into that body, they might perceive it very quickly, I don't know. I don't know, many of them still, you know, look at the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, all of those things, they bring them right in to their daily, and their daily, you know, kind of meditation. So, I mean, how much more law could you have in the Ten Commandments?

I have got a note there by law of religion instead of law of religion. So as we work together in the body, really we acknowledge that we're co-workers with the Lord Jesus Christ in that work, and then that grace that God pretends for all of us then is the operation, that's the electricity to the way we work together as a body of Christ. Thumbs, toes, noses, hands, all different in terms of our responsibilities, but yet the grace is what sustains us. Verse 2 in the Linear Greek, for he says, in a time acceptable I heard thee, and in a day of salvation I helped thee. Behold now a time acceptable, behold now a day of salvation.

In your handout I'll turn you to Isaiah 49.8 which is printed before you, you don't need to look that up in the text. But thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee. I will preserve thee and give thee for a covenant of the people to establish the earth, the cause to inherit the desolate heritages."

You know, as you look at commentators to this section of the Word, often the Isaiah passage is ultimately not referred to, although it is in my text, it is referred to here, Isaiah 49.8. But this is really, if you will, an example of Old Testament truth brought forward.

Now in Isaiah, I think the truth of this really is fairly restricted compared to the way Paul is using it in 2 Corinthians 6.2. But let's look forward. The term accepted in the Greek is a really much more emphatic term. It means well accepted. In a time acceptable, in a time well accepted for Israel, God had in mind, as Isaiah quoted, what that time would be. But let's apply that now to us.

You know, in the prophecy, we're talking about, again, the fulfillment of the promises God made to the nation. But what's the gist here for us today? What do you think about this time of salvation? Are we talking about salvation anew and or are we talking about salvation sustained? What do you think?

You know, the concept here is kind of, I was saved, I'm being saved, and I will be saved, right? I was saved the day I believed. I'm being saved day by day. This process of the outworking of the truth of the Word of God through the Spirit in us. And the third, I will be saved. When I leave this earth, I will be saved unto Him in heavenly places. Of course, our position is there already, but the physical presence will be there.

What are your thoughts here? Is Paul really talking about salvation anew? Or is this the outworking on a day-to-day basis, the salvation of the life of a believer? Could he be speaking to unbelievers also, that now is the time of salvation, and this is the time that you go to think about it?

That's the question, yes. Okay, so, Winnie, would you like to interpret it that way, then? Well, I say it could be interpreted that way, too, but I'm sure it's speaking to believers all the time. Well, I'm not actually sure which it is. I'm leaving it open for discussion. That's why I asked the question. What are other people's thoughts on this?

Is this salvation anew, like somebody comes into Holly Hills this morning and today is the day of salvation? Or someone you might meet on your paths tomorrow in the workplace or in your neighborhood? Or is he, in fact, talking about something that might be consistent with John 17? Let's turn there just for a second, and I think this an area of scripture we all know so well, but you know, I needed to remind myself that this is an ongoing act right now.

And we're not going to read all 17 verses, but let's just read into there. Verse 9 says, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me, for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them, and now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world."

That's you and I, everybody, right? And I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one. Keep in mind the fellowship, right? The co-labors, that we're one. as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, da-da-da-da. And now come I to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. And I've given them my word, etc." So, I mean, just think, the Lord Jesus Christ right now is appealing for your salvation.

Not you're being born again, that's happened. but the idea of this outworking of his truth in us. So I would suggest to you here that this is a more reasonable interpretation, but doesn't have to be restricted to that. Other thoughts? What's that say? Okay. All right. So that would appeal more to those that may be unsaved, right? Any other thoughts on this? One thing I've just noticed is in verse 2, towards the end of verse 2, it says, Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. And if you look back at Isaiah, it doesn't have those two phrases. That's right. That's added on.

And so Paul takes Isaiah 49.8, it looks like, and then adds those two phrases.

You know, it's interesting, though, in context, in 2 Corinthians, we've not been dealing with Israel here. Right? I mean, in other words, this is kind of pulled out from the Old Testament for a purpose. And the question is, what is that purpose? I mean, typically, like in Romans 9, etc., the stage is set. with the scenery of the Old Testament in Israel.

Whereas here, suddenly, an Isaiah passage shows up, and what's that all about, anyway? Maybe, as Hal, maybe, I think, is intending to drive us down a road that says that, oh, by the way, unlike the Old Testament where, in fact, the promise to Israel was given, but the time not defined, now it is defined for the unbeliever, Winnie, ultimately the time is defined now for us to be co-laborers for this outworking of grace in the life of the believer. I'm not quite sure what the best interpretation is, but I'd like to leave it broadly capable of being interpreted either way. Generally, since now is the time, the accepted time for salvation, you might think it is for the unsaved, because that's in general the way we restrictively interpret this. But Or, like you said, we're being saved. I mean, we're saved. Yet we are. We will be saved. I mean, it is an ongoing process.

You know, and just looking at Isaiah 49.8, it looks like the first part, where it ends, and in the day of salvation, have I helped thee? And that's what appears in 2 Corinthians. And so, that's kind of, Paul's taking that as a universal truth. pertaining to both Israel and the Church.

But when you go on to Isaiah 49.8, and I will preserve thee and give thee for a covenant among people, now that's directly applied to Israel. So he's just taking the first part of that, which is universal, and which applies also to us. Any other thoughts on verse 2? Well, the desolate heritage is obviously Israel and the land. Is it also Adam? Yes. Is it also what? Adam. Adam. From the fall.

And let's put that in context of that interpretation. Does that fit well with the sequitur to verse 1, do you think? I mean, in other words, that verse 2 is subsequent to verse 1. One, we're in encouraged to be co-workers or co-laborers. And that, remember, is with God and with one another.

And so now we come up with this, now's the time of salvation. And I think, especially in the last part of verse 1, it says, we also urge you Not to receive the grace of God in vain. Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the time to appropriate what it is that God's done for the ongoing part. God's grace and the work in our lives. Now is the time. Don't receive it in vain. Don't receive it and put it off for five years or for one day. Now is the time, guys. Alright, good. Let's go ahead and move on. Okay, Doug, we'll leave it up there then.

The book of Isaiah has a lot of prophecy. Much of Isaiah is looking forward. Isaiah 53, for example. Prophecy. That's right. And what is this then? The Day of Salvation? Is that a prophecy to the Jewish people? See? The idea is in the prophecy book. The Holy Spirit knew what he was doing through Paul to put this section of the Old Testament here, didn't he?

Our best understanding is that he has a clearer picture as to why it's here and what the interpretation is, but I think we can restricted to new salvation of an unbeliever, or we could broaden it to say it's the outworking of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. I think both are possible. And notice that's why I asked the question, is Salvation of Newest Salvation sustained, i.e., or e.g., John 17 truth?

Okay, let's move on. Thanks. Good discussion. Verse 3. and this is not the Interlunar Greek, this is King James, giving no offense in anything that the ministry be not blamed, refers just obviously back to verse 1. So verse 2 is kind of, oh by the way, and then verse 3 really goes back to 1, I think.

So we're co-workers and were beseeched not to receive the grace of God, giving no offense in anything that the ministry be not blamed." Because the ministry can't be blamed if, in fact, the Holy Spirit is out working and the grace of God not be taken in vain, right? What things are silver and gold versus wood, hay, and stubble? It's the enactment of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer and the body that ultimately is gold and silver, right? This is what lasts.

Giving no offense in anything, in the Greek, really means stumbling in anything. What do you think of when you think of stumbling in the ministry? Don't you think that people are always, if they know you're a believer, they're always kind of watching to see how you respond to things, how you live your life. And so, if you are then, you know, living your life kind of, you know, not walking in spirit, and they see that, I think that is a stumbler to them. And they go, well, this person is supposed to be a believer, and look how they act, look how they walk. And remember, the world operates in legal principles, doesn't it? They don't understand the grace of God as we do. We all know that down deep were sinners saved by grace.

It's the only bus to town. But yet we also know as we grow in grace and truth that the old man becomes increasingly apparent to us. We've talked about that in the past month or two in this class. So we're going to make mistakes and we're going to fail the ministry in our own strength, but we understand that. We can forgive one another for those shortcomings because we understand what that's all about, but the world doesn't. The world system looks through legal glasses at us.

And keep in mind the ministry could be blamed internally too. Not only through the eyes of the world, the outside looking in as each of us walk in our paths day by day, but even within, this can be a malignancy, if you will. Okay, there are a number of verses that point to this idea of not stumbling or no offenses to the ministry. I just wrote down 32 and 33 for you in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, and here it says, "...give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God, even as I please all men in all things, Look at this, and here's where the ministry can cause offense. Not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many that they may be saved. Right?

We need to get out of the way. It's not what we're contributing or what we're getting or what we're doing, it's who we are. And when it's who we are that's working out through the ministry, then the ministry is not to be blamed. And if it is, it's blamed falsely. It's who we are.

Yeah, I always said, you know, one of the things you learn in parenting is, by mistake for sure, you know, you want your kids to grow up knowing not what they have to do, but who they are. And if they know who they are, then what they do is a reflection of who they are. And I think that's true of the ministry too, isn't it? I mean, it's life for all of us. It's who we are, not what we do.

And when who we are becomes increasingly apparent, then what we do is to the power and glory of God. Other thoughts on this? Examples? How about some thoughts about how the ministry ultimately could be blamed? I mean, we've given kind of a generic example. Any specific thoughts?

TV evangelist. I had a friend tell me recently, she was telling me that she had gone to a church, she was recently from another country, she went to a church with some people and when she got in there, they sent around the offering plate and she, not coming from a church background in Europe, comes here and was made to feel very embarrassed because she had nothing to put in the offering plate.

And she has never forgotten that. And she said she has never again been in a church. And nothing to do, because in her mind, this was a, you know, she said, and here are these people who are supposed to be so good. I mean, that's the term she used, good.

And yes, yes, but it was self-righteous, right? And she said, and they made her feel very embarrassed, because she didn't have any, and she said, can you believe no one told me to bring money to put in the offerings, like no one told me. And that just, you know, it was just so sad. Yeah, and this was 20 years ago. And she's never forgotten that incident. Boy, do we do that right around here, don't we?

I mean, you know, what's the New Testament? We're going tangential for a second, but what's the New Testament principle on giving? Grace. Well, grace and what? What's God love? Okay, a cheerful giver, right? I mean, that's the principle of giving, is it not? I mean, boy, that's a very good example.

Another example, maybe, of a ministry being offensive or stumbling. You know, I think sometimes that for those who understand identification truths, and the positional truths, and the grace truths, that sometimes they can make someone feel a little bit on the outside if they don't understand themselves and all of us at one point in our lives we didn't understand them and so as people come into our path or into this church or wherever it might be I think we need to be sensitive to that. We can make them feel like that lady felt a little bit because we know what they don't know as opposed to being sensitive to them. Boy, we all were at that point one time. Let's help them to understand as opposed to maybe unintentionally.

I think it's a great point, Jim. I really do. And each of us has to ask ourselves that question. I mean, that's really, really an important point. All right, good. Verse 4, back to the interlinear Greek. Can I put that up here? When I put the interlinear Greek up here, I'm just putting it up for clarity what the text really is intending to say, I think, from the original before the translation.

But in everything, commending ourselves as of God ministers. Notice that in terms of being co-laborers. We're God ministers. Well, that's a whole different deal, isn't it? God ministers in endurance much in afflictions, in necessities, in straits. Now, this is the beginning of the next six and a half verses, which are a series of lists of characters, attributes, identification truths played out for the next three and a half verses. And then from eight through ten, we're looking at nine contrasts that really look conflicting in description. But again, as I mentioned 20 minutes ago, kind of fun to work through in terms of understanding how they relate to the walk of the believer. So what we're going to do now is we're going to, after this particular slide, we're going to then get into these individual characteristics in modest detail.

So, commend really is something that really relates to his argument about the dignity and the glory of the ministers of Christ. commending is to place together, to introduce, to represent as worthy. This is a really a high-end verb. I mean it really... commend sounds suggestive and directional, but I think we're looking... the Greek captures this probably much better than we translate it. It really means to represent as worthy. I'm commending you. God commended his love towards us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Strong word. This is not a weak word, commend.

And as ministers, we commend ourselves and notice this, not by word, but by deed. Again, it's by word. It's not what we say, but in fact, it's how we carry ourselves by deed. Now remember, it's not what we do, it's who we are. But again, when we know who we are, what we do is a reflection of that grace poured out in our lives in terms of our ministry. Thoughts on the verse up to the first part where it says, but in everything commending ourselves as God ministers.

Alright. The idea of accommodation has kind of been coming up over and over in the first six chapters. You know, the people were wanting Paul to give accommodation for himself. He said, no, I'm not going to pay myself. Again, there's been this kind of back and forth battle.

So here he says, but in everything commending ourselves as God ministers. So again, if he's going to give a word of commendation about himself, it's not because of, again, it's directed to the Lord. God ministers is where my commendation is going to come from. Yeah, excellent point, Jim. All right.

Now, for the next week and a half, we're going to be kind of noun-oriented, or at times, adjective, but mostly nouns. This is potentially laborious, but I think we can find a lot of excitement here as we go through this. The first thing that we're told in verse 4 is that we're to carry this out as ministers of God in much patience. Patience can be endurance, certainly reflects afflictions present, because afflictions is what makes us impatient. I know this well. You don't have to smile like that. Okay, all right.

So James 5.10 says, take my brethren the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering affliction and of patience. How? How did the prophets demonstrate this? I kept on speaking the word of the Lord even though they were persecuted, killed, ostracized. You can name quite a few, can't you? Pretty much all of them. Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist actually. That's a good one, huh?

What was the source of their ability to demonstrate patience and affliction? Were they indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God? This is the first question I've got to the Lord Jesus Christ when I'm with him. If the Holy Spirit did not indwell these great men and women of God in the Old Testament, how did they accomplish things to your glory?

Well, I think you get the idea that the spirit kind of comes in, goes out and stuff, but doesn't, didn't permanently indwell. But, you know, let me return to something I said maybe four months ago here. You know, I think that personalities are really unchanged by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

I mean, in other words, who we are, the way we carry ourselves, whether we're just intrinsically patient or impatient. I mean, I think there's a lot that just is who we are and what our background's been, how much of that's genetic and how much is environmental. And I don't know, maybe God picked the men that he wanted this prophecy to be demonstrated in a way that he picked the right guys to do this for the right reasons. Because the patients that we're challenged to receive as believers is a patient that has to come from outside ourselves, right?

Conversation, thoughts. I mean, how often have you tried to... I mean, I'm a very impatient guy. I mean, I really am. I kind of get the job done and let's get all the things in the road to get it done efficiently and don't get in my way. I mean, the issue is, you know, I'm easily made impatient. But the work of... How often have you worked on your impatience? Boy, I'll tell you, that does nothing but reveal how impatient you really are, right?

So the patience through afflictions may be of a different sort. Do you think it is, maybe? Is that a different kind of patience than just having the intrinsic capability of being a patient person? Go ahead and read them out. we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access, by faith, into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. So picture that, we have access to Him. And only so, but we worry in tribulations or afflictions, knowing that tribulation works patience. So in a sense what Hal has done is support something I just said in that the patience that comes to a godly man or woman in the afflictions that are before us is really an attribute that is not of ourselves. You know, in a sense, by the work outworking of the Spirit in me, I have patience through... I mean, it's kind of a small thing. I mean, I accept this truth as it's given, but the issue is how well does that play out?

And, you know, it's a day-to-day event, but yet I think we're talking about the penultimate or ultimate truth of who we are in Christ, and these afflictions are to be expected in this world. I think these afflictions are often the persecution that relates to us being in the body of Christ and who we are as co-ministers or co-laborers. These are the types of afflictions. Sure, they could be small things like somebody pulls out of a you know, stop sign without stopping, we slam on our brakes and stuff.

I mean, of course that relates to the outworking Lord Jesus Christ and all that too, but the issue is I think that this has a much bigger panorama before us in terms of what the intention of these verses are, not to dismiss the other ones. So the affliction then brings out a doubt? the patient, the appropriation of the patient. It's true. It's there. You can go before the presence of God, and it's there. We already have it. But the affliction causes us to take possession of what we already have in us. And the rest, I think, is so important. The rest. I like Vincent Taylor. You guys have read Vincent Taylor's Spiritual Secret, maybe you've read that, where he went into the ministry and established China Animal Mission, but then he got really sick.

And he was bedridden for a long time, where all he could do was write letters, read his testimonies about that. It caused him to for this to become a reality in his life. You know, a man of his of his character. It was a pretty neat story. I got used to it. It turned tremendously about. Sort of like a hall being put in prison. That's probably the only way you can get him to write. Slow him down a little bit. But I'm thinking that works too, that we have been accounted worthy to suffer these things. You know, I went through this a little bit the other night. I was at a meeting in Las Vegas. Oh, I hate that place. Meeting in Las Vegas, actually an evening dinner for the editorial board of a journal I serve on. And everybody had wanted to say, but I didn't. And then I always ask, why not? And that's generally not a simple answer. But anyway, all that aside, it ultimately ended up that I was found out to be a believer and I actually voted for Bush.

And man, I'll tell you, but you know, it was really a small affliction for a short time. But nevertheless, I mean, I sat at this table with all these people from Boston and New York and stuff and just being looked at as some sort of an outsider, some sort of a weird guy. And, you know, a small thing compared to what Paul... Yeah, goodness, I thought you were educated, Echol. What's the matter with you? I mean, that was kind of... I'm serious.

It was really for about five to ten minutes. difficult, but the patience of the Lord, I mean, I could have obviously gotten argumentative, but that wasn't where the Lord had me. The Lord had me just to sit there and put up with that for a little bit, and then ultimately the conversation got changed because there was no conversation.

So in a sense, we as believers do, in fact, have these light afflictions. Remember Paul's light affliction is being imprisoned and in chains and being threatened in terms of death, but my light affliction is being maybe persecuted for five minutes at a table of fellow academicians. Anyway, but they come. These little things come. And the patience is to really have the Lord work in us to develop a really good understanding of what really truth is, and we can rest in that truth.

And I think Paul's talking about this, I think, in a different set of circumstances than what I just shared. How about necessities? Philippians 4, 11 and 12 says, not that I speak in respect of want. And Paul says, for I learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased and how to abound everywhere and in all things. I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry. both to abound and to suffer me."

Boy, can any one of us say that any better than that? Necessities. What are the necessities? Paul says they're really pretty non-existent. I mean, this life, as Hal is entitled in this section of Scripture, his life and ministry is supernatural. these necessities really become pale in terms of who we are in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Distresses, 2 Corinthians 4.8, we just covered that recently. We're troubled in every side yet not distressed, perplexed but not in despair. This is another life, isn't it? This isn't us kind of weighing the circumstances we're under, but this really is somebody else kind of giving us this atmosphere of truth.

In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, and in fastings. Stripes, boy, you know, we're going to get there ultimately. Second Corinthians 11, we don't need to turn there now, but Paul describes in some detail the many afflictions and strifes, blows, wounds, et cetera, that he experienced. Imprisonments. We know from the text that Paul was at least imprisoned in four places, in Philippi, in Jerusalem, in Caesarea, and in Rome, and maybe more. I mean, we just have evidence from the Word of God that those four places Paul was imprisoned.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 2.9, wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound.

Isn't that really uplifting? The word of God is not bound. Boy, think about how that relates to our temporal circumstances that are binding in every way. We live in a legal system that binds us in so many ways. But whether we're imprisoned or have, you know, chains around our wrists and hands or whether we're threatened in terms of our temporal existence, the Word of God is not bound. And that's the truth in which we rest. written word, that's like the word of God is not bound, we have in us the living word. And so then we might be bound physically, but we're never bound spiritually. So even though our circumstances might be upon our knees, still, spiritually, we're not bound, we're free to rest in Christ and enjoy the life of Christ. despite the binding of earthly circumstances. And see, the world doesn't understand that, do they?

Well, that makes me think so much of people who are Christians in Pakistan or Iraq, Iran. And you know there are Christians there. There are a lot of them. But they can't openly express their faith through fear of death. Well, honey, you know that I was just going to point out the Sadakas in Beirut who we know quite well. The Christian faith in Lebanon is actually not small, small, small. It's small, but at least there's a body there.

But you're right. But yet they're not bound in their faith. And it's growing. You read and you talk to people. The Christian community there, even though it's underground, is really just exploding in those areas. So that shows you how it's not bound. And Hildegard is a good example of that. Tumult implies kind of political instability or commotion.

And good examples of that are in 1 Corinthians 14.33 where Paul talks about the conflict around tongues. I mean, that was almost a political issue, almost as much as it was a spiritual issue, that speaking in unknown tongues and how one was going to interpret that. And certainly Gallia's indifference in Acts, it relates to how he's going to deal with Paul. I mean, to some extent, Paul's making these claims and statements that Gallia's in a kind of a, he's almost a pilot type figure for Paul in terms of his indifference about how he's going to deal with that. So, I mean, Tumult really could be described in a wide variety of ways, but I think it's best to kind of think of them in terms of political commotions or instabilities. It doesn't have to be that restrictive, but that's the best way to do it.

Labors implies prevail and toil and weariness, and I've given you a verse there to look at 1 Timothy 4.10. Watchings. What does watchings mean to you when you think about watchings? Kind of a funny term, isn't it? Paul says, in Watchings, he's a minister of God in Watchings. I've got to define for you there, don't I?

Sleeplessness and insomnia. But you know, if you turn to the text on Watchings, you have to ultimately go back to what Christ asked his disciples to do when he was in the garden. And the idea of Watchings is meaning you don't sleep. Stay awake. In a sense, Christ encouraged, in fact, commanded his disciples not to sleep for a purpose, knowing full well they would, ahead of time. But keep in mind that when we're in watchings, that's a trial, is it not?

How many times have you gone days without any sleep? Has anybody been there and done that? Well, I remember when I was a house officer in training, you know, up all night in the hospital and then there the whole next day, the 9 or 10, the next 9, you know, 36 was a short time not to sleep and it was often longer. Now there are, there's rules that you cannot be, you know, in the hospital as a physician any longer than a certain period during your training. So there's now, a limited amount of hours you can spend per week and hours without sleep. But that wasn't true years gone by and people, you know, a generation before me worked even harder than I did during training.

So, I mean, this watching is not a term of just, you know, kind of staying up and having a good time kind of deal. This is in its own right a trial as the disciples were placed to watch over the garden when Christ was in Gethsemane before his crucifixion. and fasting. And I doubt that this is one of these decisions to fast for the Lord, you know, that our prayers might be more readily heard and answered. We're talking about now likely there's no food.

I suspect that if you look at, let's look at 2 Corinthians 11.27, just over a couple of pages here. And in a sense, many of these same issues are brought up here, and weariness, and painfulness, and watchings often, and hunger, and thirst, and fastings often, and cold, and nakedness. You don't get the idea here that these fastings are voluntary fastings.

Did the second bell ring? My goodness! Good place to stop. Let's close with prayer. Father, we're thankful for the time we've shared this morning. We trust that you're about your business working through your word to bring about the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're thankful for the opportunity to have the freedom to worship you and to have your word made available. And as we go in grace, may we in each and every step and deed reflect your great glory through us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.