Right now there is a lot of interest in the prophecies concerning the end of the age and also about the rapture. But in the last chapter we saw that the goal of this ministry is to make us a letter of commendation for the Lord Jesus. His words are engraved on our hearts. The bride of Christ is the goal of this ministry which will have an eternal glory. This group of people will be transformed into the same image of the Lord by His Spirit. The image that they will be transformed into is the image we see in Luke. (The gospel of Matthew gives the gospel to the Jews that remain to the end of the tribulation, Mark gives us the gospel to those who remain after the first rapture, and Luke gives us the gospel to those who are raptured before the tribulation. I compare and contrast the gospels of Mark and Luke in another blog to demonstrate this.) In Mark He is always arguing with religious leaders while in Luke He is always healing and forgiving. In Mark the message to the disciples is to persevere in faith despite suffering whereas in Luke it is to leave everything and to accept everyone, especially outcasts, poor, and even enemies. If you are the letter of commendation written in Luke you are accepting everyone, including the “deplorables” an you are healing and forgiving which includes healing this country with the divide, dealing with this corruption that is growing like a cancer, and you are forgiving those who got caught up in this crime but now repent. There are others who are all caught up in “arguing with religious leaders about the interpretation”. That is also a work of God but is the letter of commendation that we see in Mark, not in Luke.
1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
We have seen many Christian ministries crash and burn over this point as hidden things of dishonesty were revealed. That is because judgement begins with the house of God. But like a tempered sword, we are now transformed into the sword of the Lord. We have renounced these hidden things of dishonesty. All of us have had this experience at some point in our lives. People who are dishonest have to become crafty and they have to handle the truth deceitfully. So now at the end of the age the “letter of commendation” for the Lord is that His people who have been derided as deplorable and chumps, that these people know how to deal with the hidden things of dishonesty, they know how to handle crafty snakes, they know how to renounce the handling of the truth deceitfully. The world may think our education system for math is behind many other countries, but when it comes to renouncing lies we are very well trained.
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God. If you are a believer the light of this glorious gospel has shined unto you. You have seen how Jesus handled the deceitful and crafty and dishonest attacks. “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, yes or no”. This is the kind of training they don’t give in the public schools, you get it from the word of God.
1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
We have seen many Christian ministries crash and burn over this point as hidden things of dishonesty were revealed. That is because judgement begins with the house of God. But like a tempered sword, we are now transformed into the sword of the Lord. We have renounced these hidden things of dishonesty. All of us have had this experience at some point in our lives. People who are dishonest have to become crafty and they have to handle the truth deceitfully. So now at the end of the age the “letter of commendation” for the Lord is that His people who have been derided as deplorable and chumps, that these people know how to deal with the hidden things of dishonesty, they know how to handle crafty snakes, they know how to renounce the handling of the truth deceitfully. The world may think our education system for math is behind many other countries, but when it comes to renouncing lies we are very well trained.
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God. If you are a believer the light of this glorious gospel has shined unto you. You have seen how Jesus handled the deceitful and crafty and dishonest attacks. “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, yes or no”. This is the kind of training they don’t give in the public schools, you get it from the word of God.