Tag: Jars of Clay

For the Remaining Time…

Psalm 84:9-11 For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room, and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. For Abba  God is both sun and shield; God will give grace and glory…

Introduction

The author of Ephesians begins their final thoughts, weaving together all that has transpired. The Ephesians are reminded, once again, to remember and have hope and thus to pray standing firm on the ground of remembrance of Christ and hope in God fort hey are sealed unto God and Christ by the power the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1). There is great unity and wholeness for this sealed body of believers who are united together through memory and hope and prayer; the Ephesians are asked to look again at the absence of the division wall of the fence, of enmity and hostility, of laws that keep some in and some out (Eph 2). The exhortation to grow (Eph 3) echoes, the arduous task of bringing the outer person in line with the inner person is not a one-and-done thing; it is daily arising and intentionally (re)learning about God’s love made tangible in Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirt. The movement from doxology to praxis and ethics is once again solidified as our praise of God informs our activity in the world to the well-being of the neighbor which returns our ethical activity into doxology and the praising of God‘s name and bringing God glory because God’s love pro nobis (for us) is the bedrock and the source of our power in the world before God (coram deo)and before humanity (coram hominibus) (Eph. 4). The emphasis on the truth is affirmed again as the Ephesians are given real ways to participate in the cosmic battle between the truth of the reign of God and the untruth of the kingdom of humanity through keeping track on how their words and deeds toward and about others either builds up or tears down, being reminded that our words (especially) and our deeds (generally) participate in the sacramental nature of the communication of God’s grace to others (Eph. 4-5).

And now in these final exhortations, Paul describes the believer as a warrior, but not one laden with the weaponry of the kingdom of humanity with the intent to harm and destroy flesh and blood, but a warrior of the reign of God, clothed in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and absolutely, positively, dependent on God and God’s love, ready to go out, divine orders in hand, to participate in God’s mission in the world.

Ephesians 6:10-20

For the remaining time, be filled with power by Christ and in the strength of his ability. Be clothed in the complete armor of God so as to be able to stand firm against the wiliness of the devil. For the struggle against blood and flesh is not for us. Rather, [we are to struggle] with the kingdom of humanity, with authorities, with the ruler of this world of darkness, with the spiritual hosts of iniquity in the heavenly speres. (Eph. 6:10-12)

Paul begins these final remarks for this remaining time by exhorting the Ephesians to press into Christ, to find themselves empowered not by their own will power but by the power of Christ and in the strength of [Christ’s] ability.[1] Everything comes from God: it starts with God and it ends with God,[2] so goes Ephesians. [3] For what the Ephesians are going to stand to do in remaining times cannot be done by human strength alone, but only by the will and power of God through Christ by the Holy Spirit—the same power that turned death into life on Easter morning.[4],[5]

Following the exhortation to be strong in and by Christ, is: be clothed in the complete armor of God so as to be able to stand firm against the wiliness of the devil. This is the adversary against which the Ephesians must contend; this is why they are to press into the strength of Christ and his ability so that they can follow in Christ’s footsteps and refute the devil’s advancements at every point. Thus, they are to put on/be clothed in the offensive and defensive equipment of God;[6] this means they must take off the offensive and defensive equipment of the kingdom of humanity. Just as one cannot have two masters, one cannot be dressed in two version of complete armor. Just as the Ephesians are exhorted to ditch the lies and the untruths of the kingdom of humanity and adhere to the truth of the reign of God (contending with the old Adam within themselves so that the new Adam may be born anew[7]), so are they to be dressed appropriately in the panoply of God.[8]

Clothed as such, the Ephesians can confront the devil and his craftiness and not other human beings. For Paul writes, Because the struggle for us is not against blood and flesh. Rather, [we are to struggle] with the kingdom of humanity, with authorities, with the ruler of this world of darkness, with the spiritual hosts of iniquity in the heavenly speres. In other words, the Ephesians are neither to take up real weapons to fight against other human beings (uh oh, Church History) nor are they to take it upon themselves to defend God and legislate God’s will (uh oh, Christian Nationalists);[9] rather, they are to wrestle like athletes[10] against the advancements of the “devil” and the powers antagonistic to the divine revolution of love, life and liberation. I could say it another way, the Ephesians are to combat untruth with truth, light with not light, love with not love (etc.). This is a wrestling/boxing match that will last until Christ comes again, and not something human beings—no matter how well intended—can do of their own power. With this preparation, clothing, and orientation in the world, the Ephesians, says Paul, should be able to withstand in the toilsome day and stand accomplishing everything. What God has set out to do—reconcile the beloved to God’s self, bringing love, life and liberation to the cosmos—God will do; the Ephesians are invited in and encouraged to participate and stand firm during these dark days (today and tomorrow[11]),[12] fully dependent and made able by God.[13]

Then Paul lists the different elements of the complete armor of God: putting on the belt[14] of truth, putting on the cuirass of justice, binding under the feet the solid foundation of the good news of peace, and with all [this] taking up the large shield of the faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming javelins of the evil one, receive the helmet [of victory] of salvation and the dagger from the Spirit, which is the word of God. The Ephesians are exhorted to gird themselves and be led by God and God’s truth; they are not to be girded and lead away by someone else or untruth.[15] They are to be fully covered in protective armor by God’s righteousness which is God’s justice; not only do they have God and God’s justice on their side, they stand on and have truth binding them, being conformed to God’s will, to pursue what God pursues. This does not mean doing things in God’s name by baptizing human action as God’s will. Rather, it is to be the clay vessels through whom God brings God’s justice: life, love, and liberation. The Ephesians, thusly, stand on the gospel that is the proclamation of Christ and the work of Christ that brings peace—the elimination of dividing walls, enmity, and laws of division—the word that makes humanity one.[16] The Ephesians are to put out the flaming arrows of the evil one with their shield of faith, thus faith—see rightly by the power of God—can put out the destructive untruths of the kingdom of humanity; here, the Ephesians do not fight fire with fire,[17] but extinguish the lies by faith by speaking the truth in love.[18] They are to wear their helmet of victory because what God started God will finish and victory is already God’s; thus the Ephesians can enter their spiritual battles knowing their victory is secured.[19] Last, they are to use the one weapon they have, the word of God; [20] the goal is not to tear down but to defend the lives of others with the word of God, to build up, to protect, to advocate, to resist on behalf of the neighbor, to, ultimately, proclaim the good news that brings liberation to the captives.[21]

Paul closes with an(other) exhortation to prayer. Throughout the letter of Ephesians, prayer has been the backbone concept throughout the text.[22] Now it comes out full force, through all prayer and supplication, pray in the Spirit in all seasons, and toward this being awake with all steadfastness and entreaty on behalf of all the holy ones, and on behalf of me… Prayer is both the way the believer is clothed in the complete armor of God and is the seizing of the sword of God, the word—not purely scripture, but the living breathing word of life, love and liberation that ushers forth from God’s lips anew every day.[23],[24] It is the core of the life of the believer in the world who, facing both good and bad times, is the representative of Christ, thus of God among and with the beloved of God—thus, the exhortation to be awake[25] and with all steadfastness and entreaty on behalf of all…[26] The faithful representative of God brings God close the neighbor and, through prayer, brings the neighbor close to God.

Conclusion

So, beloved, Ephesians leaves us drenched and soaked in the presence of God. What started off with remembering and hoping and prayer, ends with them. We are, according to Ephesians, part and participant in this great cloud of witnesses that not only sees God’s glory but also gets to share in bringing that glory further and deeper into the world. You may feel insignificant for such a cosmic task, but you are the perfect and most precious breakable vessel spreading God’s mission in the world. Together here, through our minds and our hearts, we see, hear, and experience in the proclamation of Christ the destruction of the dividing walls, the elimination of enmity, and the rendering obsolete oppressive laws. Each week, according to Ephesians, we grow in this knowledge of divine equity and we grow more mature in our knowledge and love of God and as a community eager to reach out and support each other, to stand in solidarity together, to have compassion, and to care. Then we bring this very reality out into the world—each of us—as God’s representatives, charged with an invaluable charge to participate in God’s divine revolution of love, life, and liberation. And this brings us back here, again, to remember, to hope, and to pray. Our doxology becomes our praxis that comes back again as our doxology.

[1] Barth, Markus, Ephesians: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 1-3, The Anchor Bible Series (Garden City: Doubleday, 1971), 760. “…a power which comes to man from outside is meant, rather than an increase in strength flowing from internal resources.”

[2] Allen Verhey and Joseph S. Harvard, Ephesians, Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible, eds. Amy Plantinga Pauw and William C. Placher (Louisville: WJK, 2011), 249-250. “…’Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.’ The ‘in the lord’ signals the solidarity with the Lord, and ‘in the strength of his power’ displays that we have been made alive together with him (2:5). We have been raised with him; we are seated with him above the principalities and powers (2:6) it is not our own strength upon which we rely; it is God’s strength. But we must live in it! We mut perform our baptism, our being raised with Christ, our being united not only to Christ but to those who are different from us to those the culture of enmity has trained us to despise…”

[3] Barth, Ephesians, 760. “…no strength other than God’s own can fortify the saints…”

[4] Barth, Ephesians, 760. “They are ‘citizens…in the kingdom of the Messiah and God’ (2:19, 5:5); they live from the incomparable power that was demonstrated in the past through the resurrection of Christ and the subjugation of all other powers (1:19-21), and that will now and from day to day strengthen the heart of each individual. (3:16-19).”

[5] Barth, Ephesians, 760-761. “The strength available to them is the resurrection power; more briefly, God is their power in person. They can and shall rely on it, that is, on Him.”

[6] Barth, Ephesians, 761. Panoply “…often the term means the full and complete equipment of a soldier with weapons of offense and defense. …It can also serve as a summary description of all the apparel with which a woman ‘dresses up’ to show herself in public.”

[7] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 250-251. “This is a cosmic conflict that is as old as sin. To be sure, it is a battle that is fought on the turf of every soul. A battle rages between ‘the old self’ and the ‘new self,’ a battle between our inclination to hate and despise and our participation in the peaceable difference of our creation and renewal. From the beginning the vision in Ephesians has been cosmic in scope and social and political in its implications. Here it would enlist us in a battle not only or our own souls but especially for the renewal of the cosmos and humanity.”

[8] Barth, Ephesians, 762. “The saints are ‘able’-bodied men not by nature, nor by one act of ordination in the past (e.g. by their baptism), but only inasmuch as again and again they take up the special armor given to them.”

[9] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 251. “The final struggle is not ours to win; that is already sure and in God’s hands. But in the interim we are to resist the resistance to God’s cause. We are not called to defend God, not even called exactly to defend our own souls; we are called to defend the beachheads God’s cause has made, they displays here and there of a renewed creation and a new humanity, the places and times that bear the primes of God’s good future.”

[10] Barth, Ephesians, 763. “No doubt Eph 6 describes a ‘spiritual war’ and ‘spiritual weapons’; but rather than use the term ‘war’ (polemos) Paul chooses a concept that originally denotes the activity of an athlete.”

[11] Barth, Ephesians, 765. Darkest day may be just a reference to evil days in a regular life or “may indicate that even now is the last time.”

[12] Barth, Ephesians, 765. “….’taking up’ is sometimes a a technical military term. It describe the last preparation and final step necessary before the actual battle begins.”

[13] Barth, Ephesians, 766. “In Eph 6 far more emphasis is placed on readiness and firmness in the struggle than upon any actual human accomplishment during the battle. The good works which they will do according to 2:10 are prepared by God’ long beforehand.”

[14] Barth, Ephesians, 767. “girdle” belt “…the special belt or sash…designating an officer or high official.”

[15] Barth, Ephesians, 767. “For the strength of God’s power is promised to each of them, and the expression ‘gird one’s loins’ …is synonymous with the idiom, ‘gird with strength.’ The opposite is to be girded by someone else and to e led away involuntarily…or to be girded with a. rope or with sackcloth…”

[16] Barth, Ephesians, 771. “The ‘peace’ and the ‘gospel’ to which Eph 6:15 refers can only be the ‘peace made’ and ‘proclaimed’ by the Messiah which is described in 2:13-18. It is not a victory of men inside God’s kingdom over men outside it that make the saints stand ‘steadfast.’ Rather the Messianic ‘peace’ which has united and will further draw together ‘those far’ and ‘those near’ gives the strength to resist non-human, demonic attacks however spiritual their origin.”

[17] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 255. “Compared to the armor of the Zealots and the Roman soldiers, this list of items—truthfulness and righteousness and the proclamation of the gospel of peace, faithfulness and the gifts of salvation and the word—is deeply countercultural. There is no confidence in the ordinary weapons of war; there is confidence in God. it is as deeply countercultural as peace and unity in the midst of the cultures of enmity that marked the life of the first century.”

[18] Barth, Ephesians, 774. “Instead of flame throwers and napalm-canisters by which the opponents and their strongholds might be burned, they are given shields which ‘enable them to quench’ (only) the fire thrown at them. The fiery attacks endured now are unlike the fire of the last judgment of God who which all men and all the creation will be exposed…”

[19] Barth, Ephesians, 775. “Most likely, a ‘helmet of victory’ is in mind which is more ornate than a battle helmet and demonstrates that the battle has been won: the saints are to ‘take’ this helmet as a gift from God. they go into battle and stand the heat of the day in full confidence of the outcome, with no uncertainty in their minds; for they were the same battle-proven helmet which God straps on his head…and which is defined by ‘impartial justice’ in…”

[20] Barth, Ephesians, 777. “Whether a traditional or a freshly inspired ‘word of God’ is in mind, this ‘word’ can be called the cutting edge of the Spirit—but it must be maintained that the word itself, not the Spirit, is the sword.”

[21] Barth, Ephesians, 777. “Therefore it is probable that the ‘word of God,’ which he calls a ‘sword,’ has to do mostly directly with the preaching of the gospel and with prayer, or is identified with them.”

[22] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 258. “We are not surprised to find that the last world of the exhortation is an exhortation to pray. Prayer here, finally, is a form of watchfulness, of waiting and hoping for God’s good future. It is a way to ‘stay alert.’ But here too this form of attention to God, this waiting and hoping, is not simply passivity. Attentive to God, we are attentive to the one who makes us agents in God’s cause, the one who invites us to bless God, the one who invites our lives and our common life to be doxology, to be for ‘the praise of [God’s] glory’ (1:12,14).”

[23] Barth, Ephesians, 777. “In consequence, persistent ‘prayer’ can be the essence and modality of the whole process of arming oneself, or only of the seizing of the sword.”

[24] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 255. “The Spirit’s sword is not simply identical with Scripture, at least not as an artifact that we can hold in our hand. It is rather the powerful and creative Word of God.”

[25] Barth, Ephesians, 779. “The purpose of staying awake is ‘praying,’ rather than putting on arms.”

[26] Barth, Ephesians, 778. “Nothing less is suggested than that the life and strife of the saints be one great prayer to God, that this prayer be offered in ever new forms however good or bad the circumstance, and that this prayer not be self-centered but express the need and hope of all the saints.”

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Walking by Faith

Psalm 20:1-2, 7 May Abba God answer you in the day of trouble, the Name of the God of Jacob defend you; send you help from God’s holy place and strengthen you out of Zion; Some put their trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will call upon the Name of our Abba God.

Introduction

“What now?” is the controlling question for this season of Pentecost. Paul is our faithful guide to answer this question. We’ve seen Paul exhort the Corinthians toward full dependence on God: dependence on the presence of God in the incarnate word of God and the indwelling of the Spirit of God. In whom does the Spirit of God indwell? The believers, the simple, inexpensive, breakable vessels. God trusts these “jars of clay” with God’s most precious treasure: God’s Word, the Proclamation of Christ, the bringing of God’s love, life, and liberation (in word and deed) to the beloved.

Last week we added another question to consider: “Will they?” Will those human beings deprived of God’s love, life, and liberation know we are Christians by our love? Paul moved his Corinthians—and us—toward the reality that these breakable vessels carrying God’s treasure are the epicenter of the comingling of the spiritual and temporal realms, through whom and with whom God works out God’s mission and divine revolution. This means that we must fix our gaze on that which cannot be perceived because it will never disappoint because it will never pass away. To fix our gaze on that which can be perceived will always disappoint because it will always pass away. And, For Paul, faith leads to acting/speaking into the kingdom of humanity the things that participate in the reign of God and in God’s mission and revolution of love, life, and liberation for the unloved, nearly dying, and the captive. “We, we believe, therefore we, we speak”; and we, we see, so we act. It is the Holy Spirit inspired believer who is the one who has eyes so fixed on that which cannot be perceived that they can also see that what can be perceived—within the temporal realm—fails the neighbor and hinders God’s revolution of love, life, and liberation from reaching them; and in seeing, they act/speak to open up the divine floodgates letting love, life, and liberation flow like water to the parched.

But that’s not all…there’s more to navigate in the collision of the temporal and spiritual realms.

2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17

For the love of Christ controls us because we are convinced that one died on behalf of all people therefore, all people died. And he died on behalf of all people so that the one who lives might no longer live for themselves but for the one who died on behalf of all people and the one who was raised. So then, from now on we, we have perceived and continue to perceive no one according to the flesh. … So then, if anyone [is] in Christ, [they are a] new creation! The old things passed away; behold! [everything] has become new! (2 Cor. 5:14-16a, 17)

Paul begins by tightening the tension of the spiritual and temporal realities for the believer: being confident at all times because we perceive while we are at home in the body we are away from home with the Lord—we walk by faith and not by visible form—we are confident and would rather be away from home in the body and be at home with the Lord (vv. 6-8). None of this is pitting the body (the σῶμα) against the spirit (the πνεῦμα).[1]  And, none of this denies that Christ is in the believer and the believer is in Christ by the presence of the Spirit.[2] What is happening is this: there’s an emphasis on walking by faith and not by visible forms. As we are here in the body, we are not able to walk bodily with Christ so we must (for now) walk in Christ by walking in both the spiritual and temporal realm.[3] In other words, as a whole person (spirit and body) we have one foot in the spiritual realm and one foot in the temporal realm while knowing all that we see is not all that there is; this means being caught up in and confronted by both the divine pathos and human antipathy perceiving what should be and what is not.[4],[5]

So, v. 9’s exhortation makes sense:[6] Therefore we eagerly strive –whether being at home or being away from home—to be well pleasing to Christ! In other words, this tension and paradox of earthly, Christian existence doesn’t mean Paul should check-out, rather it means he should really check-in because while Paul is not bodily with Christ he is with Christ by faith and Christ is with him; where Paul goes, there Christ goes, too.[7] Thus, Paul will expend himself, lose everything on behalf of the divine word of Christ and the divine deeds of love for the captives.[8] Paul will strive to do well in the mortal body so to appear before the tribunal of Christ and may receive back what has been lost because of what was accomplished—whether good or bad—in/by the body. This is not about heaven or hell, but about assessing works and their recompense; it’s about reward not status.[9] I’m placing emphasis in this thought on the verb translated as “may receive back what has been lost.” This verb highlights that what was lost bodily while participating in God’s mission and identifying with the beloved of God (the captive, the one fighting for their life and love in the world) will be paid back. I could say it another way: it is the one who picks up their cross to follow Christ who will find their life. What goes out and into the world on behalf of the neighbor, comes back when standing face to face with Christ.

Then, Paul focuses on Christ: one’s love for Christ and Christ’s love for all people[10] which motivates Christian activity in the world.[11] For the love of Christ controls us because we are convinced that one died on behalf of all people’ therefore, all people died.  It is the love of Christ shown through the cross that solicits the believer’s identification with Christ. Thus, as Christ’s death exposes the believer for who they are (sinner) the exposed one dies as Christ died.[12] Yet, it’s not only about identifying with Christ’s death, but also identifying with whom Christ identified: the oppressed, the hungry, the suffering, the sorrowful, the state disgraced and disenfranchised,[13] And he died on behalf of all people so that the one who live might no longer live for themselves but for the one who died on behalf of all people and the one who was raised. To follow Christ means to live and die as Christ did for the beloved of God—spiritually and temporally if necessary.

But not just identifying with Christ’s death but with Christ’s resurrected life and being recreated by faith. Thus, Paul can say, So then, from now on we, we have perceived and continue to perceive no one according to the flesh. … if anyone [is] in Christ, [they are a] new creation! The old things passed away; behold! [everything] has become new! The liberation of the believer by faith in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit is liberation into and for the well-being of the world, the neighbor, especially for those who are fighting to live, to love, to be liberated and all of it to the glory of God.[14] This recreation demands a change of address; the believer may live in the kingdom of humanity but her address is of the reign of God.[15] Thus, she has no excuse here according to Paul: not only does she walk by faith, she operates in the world by faith, refusing to judge anyone according to the flesh.[16],[17] She is a totally new creation, seeing the world differently, operating in the world differently, speaking into the world differently finding the source of her motivation in the word of God to the Glory of God.[18]

Conclusion

Christ came into the world not for Christ’s self, but for the world, for the beloved, for the neighbor, for you. And as those who have been adopted into God by faith in Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit—living in, with, and among you—you are now grafted into and solicited to participate in God’s mission and revolution in the world to make this world better, to arrest if from the hands of those who are dead set on destroying it for their own gain, power, and ego. To walk by faith is to see by faith and if to see by faith, to speak by faith, act by faith, and to do it all as breakable vessels fully dependent on God carrying the valuable treasure of God’s love, life, and liberation within ourselves. To walk by faith is to walk with one foot always in the temporal realm and one foot in the spiritual realm, to be aware that you are, by faith, the epicenter of human and divine activity in the world to the glory of God and the well-being of the neighbor.

(This does not mean creating a calcified and static Christian nation-state, because the spiritual realm and the temporal realm can never be one and the same realm this side of Christ’s coming again; they always exist distinctly and alongside each other. The spiritual realm and its believers—whoever they are—are always there to highlight how the kingdoms of humanity fail not only other human beings but also God’s mission and revolution of love, life, and liberation in the world. Every day believers are new creations, letting that which is no longer helpful to human and cosmic thriving to slip away and, like midwives, ushering in that which is helpful to human and cosmic thriving. Thus, the believer must always liberated from the temporal realm by the spiritual realm by faith and by being a new creature everyday we can see that where there is not love we must bring love, where there is not life we must bring life, where there is not liberation we must bring liberation.)

[1] Harris, Second Corinthians, 395. “Paul has in mind the physical body as the locus of human existence on earth, the frail and mortal σῶμα ψυχικόν. His thought here is neither dualistic…nor derogatory…He is affirming that to be living on earth in a physical body inevitably means distance—indeed exile—from the risen Lord, who lives in heaven in a spiritual body.”

[2] Harris, Second Corinthians, 397-398. “The separation, Paul answers, is relative not absolute: though absent from sight, the Lord is present to faith, yet it is not until he is present also to sight that Christian existence will reach its true goal of consummated fellowship with him.”

[3] Harris, Second Corinthians, 396. “To be ἐν Χριστῷ does not yet mean to be σὺν Χριστῷ (Phil. 1:23). Unlike Christ, Paul had his residence on earth, not heaven, but he recognized that his true home, his ultimate residence, was πρὸς τὸν κύριον (v.8); in this sense he was an exile, absent from his home with the Lord…And if an exile, also a pilgrim (cf. περιπατοῦμεν, v.7). But as well as regarding his separation from Christ as ‘spatial,’ Paul may he viewed it as ‘somatic.’ It is not simply a case of Christ’s being ‘there’ and Christians’ being ‘here’; until Christians have doffed their earthly bodies and donned their heavenly, they are separated from their Lord by the difference between two modes of being, the σῶμα ψυχικόν and the σῶμα πνευματικόν.”

[4] Harris, Second Corinthians, 399. “…to lead a life of faith is to see only baffling, mirrored reflections of reality and to have incomplete knowledge…”

[5] Harris, Second Corinthians, 399. “…living in the realm of faith is indistinguishable from hoping for what is still unseen…”

[6] Harris, Second Corinthians, 404. “Paul’s constant ambition to know Christ’s approval (v. 9) was the direct consequence or obvious corollary of his awareness that death would terminate his absence form Christ and inaugurate a περιπατεῖν διὰ εἶδους πρὸς τὸν κῦριον (vv. 6-8). To entertain the hope of person-to-person communion with Christ after death (v. 8b) inevitably and naturally prompted the aspiration of gaining acceptance in his eyes before and after death.”

[7] Harris, Second Corinthians, 399. “‘Where the Spirit is, there is expectation.’ As long as Paul was required to ‘walk in the realm of faith,’ he was distant from the Lord and yet possessed of the pledge of the Spirit that a ‘walking in the realm of sight’ was to follow.”

[8] Harris, Second Corinthians, 405. “Vv. 8-10 well illustrate the interrelatedness of eschatology and ethics. Paul’s constant ambition to gain Christ’s approval (v. 9) was prompted by two facts relating to the future of his destiny of dwelling with the Lord (v. 8) and his coming accountability to Christ (v. 10).”

[9] Harris, Second Corinthians, 409. “Since, then, the tribunal of Christ is concerned with assessment of works, not the determination of destiny, it will be apparent that the Pauline concepts of justification on the basis of faith and recompense in accordance with works may be complementary. Not status but reward is determined ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ βήατος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, for justification as the acquisition of a right standing before God anticipates the verdict of the Last Judgment.”

[10] Harris, Second Corinthians, 421. “When Christ died, he was acting both on behalf of and in the place of all human beings.”

[11] Harris, Second Corinthians, 419. “No one doubts that believers’ love for Christ motivates their actions, but here Paul is concentrating on an earlier stage of motivation, namely the love shown by Christ in dying for humankind.”

[12] Harris, Second Corinthians, 421. “When Christ died, all died; what is more, his death involved their death.”

[13] Harris, Second Corinthians, 422. “The intended result of the death of Christ was the Christian’s renunciation of self-seeking and self-pleasing and the pursuit of a Christ-centered life filled with action for the benefit of others, as was Christ’s life…”

[14] Harris, Second Corinthians, 426. “…reflects a distinctive Christian outlook.”

[15] Harris, Second Corinthians, 423. “…‘for Paul, freedom means transfer from one dominion to another: from law to grace (Ro . 6:14) from sin to righteousness (Rom. 6:18), from death to life (Rom. 6:21-23), from flesh to Spirit (Rom. 8:4ff); or, as he puts it here, from self to Christ…’”

[16] Harris, Second Corinthians, 427. “Paul is affirming that with the advent of the era of salvation in Christ, and eve since his own conversion to Christ, he has ceased making superficial, mechanical judgments about other people on the basis of outward appearances—such as national origin, social status, intellectual capability, physical attribute, or even charismatic endowment and pneumatic displace…”

[17] Harris, Second Corinthians, 429. “…Paul is rejecting (in v. 16a) any assessment of human beings that is based on the human or worldly preoccupation with externals.”

[18] Harris, Second Corinthians, 434. “When a person becomes a Christian, he or she experiences a total restructuring of life that alters its whole fabric—thinking, feeling, willing, and acting. Anyone who is ‘in Christ’ is ‘Under new Management’ and has ‘Altered Priorities Ahead,’ to use the wording sometimes found in shop windows and …on roads.”

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