Please obey 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 5:1-8—(4:18) “…we do NOT look at the things which are seen, but (we DO look) at the things which are unseen….” And (5:7), “For we walk by faith, and NOT by sight.”
Obeying God’s word, so we come to Jesus, the resurrected Christ, and remain in Him, is probably life’s most essential truth (John 5:39-40; Galatians 3:23-26; 1 John 5:11-12).
For Romans 6:1-3; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Galatians 3:26-29, and John 15:1-27, say every Christian God places in Christ Jesus should remain in Him, and since we do not think, speak, and act like the world, Jesus says we will be hated by the world, because worldly-minded people hated Jesus enough to beat and nail Him to a cross, so do not look at what Jesus said worldly-minded people will do to us, but instead look at Jesus, the resurrected Christ, who told us it would happen, and thank Him for His word, His warnings, for they always come true.
Be excited about 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 16 Therefore we do not lose heart (give up). Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction (persecution), which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (dignity, honor), 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Thank God for 2 Corinthians 5:1-9; soon we will be forever with our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 For we know if our earthly house, this tent (body), is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house (new body) not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed (robed: Revelation 6:9-11), with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality (death) may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always confident, knowing while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
It is hard for the human mind to fully understand the honored privilege Christians have in suffering for Christ Jesus our Lord, because we look at the world around us coming apart in anger, disrespect, hate, and lawlessness, instead of looking at what God’s word says we have in Romans 8:16-21, 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. 18 For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory (dignity, honor) which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility (death, corruption), not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption (decay) into the glorious liberty (resurrected bodies) of the children of God.
From my lips flow praises, when I read what God’s word says Christian-faith already sees (Hebrews 11:13), as the Holy Spirit guides us through this unstable, dying world (1 John 2:15-17), on our way to peaceful eternal joy with God, Christ, and the other members of His body, the church.
Stop looking and fearing what is happening around us, and start seeing what God’s word says is already planned and prepared for the members of Christ’s body, the church worldwide (John 14:1-3; Revelation 21:1-4).
Make thoughts, words, and actions obey Jesus Christ, the living Word (2 Corinthians 10:4-7).
Jim Nabors
