Not Ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord
For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord. (II Corinthians 4:5)
II Cor. 4:1-7, 11:1-15 and 12:14-15; Acts 10:36; Matt. 20:28; I Cor. 1:23; I Thess 2:8
What Is God Saying?
II Corinthians was written to a troubled Church with the divisiveness that is engendered by moral ambivalence, pride, and suspicion. Some called into question Paul's right to be an Apostle and many were all too ready to accept a ‘different gospel’ (II Cor. 11:4). He was impelled to establish his right to the status of Apostleship (11:5). He spoke with fearless frankness about those who disguised themselves as apostles, saying, ‘No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light’ (11:14-15).
Paul's ministry was motivated by the determination to preach Christ and substantiated by his own life of service. The ‘transcendent power (of Christ and the Gospel) belongs to God and not to us.’ It is carried in a mere earthen vessel, a vessel dedicated to loving service for the sake of Christ and their good (4:7). Paul says, ‘If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation,’ and ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself,’ and this ministry of reconciliation was given to him and all Christians (5:17-19). All of this faithful ministry rises from and is sustained by ‘the abundant love that I (Paul) have for you’ (2:4b).
How Does This Apply To Us?
Although we are all earthen vessels, we carry a great treasure. It is a treasure that must be shared to be replenished. The container is perishable and transient, but the contents are priceless and eternal. This should motivate and dominate all of life. We may spend most of our time making a living, absorbed in necessary and mundane tasks to stay alive. That is what we do, but the great question remains, Why are we doing it? With our lips, we can say we love God, but it is in our lives that we show we love God. True followers of Christ will get the spotlight off themselves and onto the power and the glory of God's reconciling love. We have a great treasure in our vessels—it is our true calling, our high calling and our real reason for being. The path to God's mountaintop leads through the valley of self-denial. ‘Not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord.’
Pray With Me
Holy Spirit, Fire Divine, burn these words into my being until no plan is conceived and no action taken that does not conform to its truth, not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord. It is so easy to get ourselves into the spotlight; our wants must be satisfied, and our selves must be served. We are more concerned about avoiding humiliation than we are about pointing men to Your glory. We preach ourselves by every attitude of self-pity, by every act of self-indulgence, and by all the subtle, little manipulati0ns that feed our pride. Lift my soul, Lord, out of this death-bound drift of self. Help me to see that in dying, I live. In giving, I receive. In blessing, I am blessed.
Help me take hold of this verse. Help me to walk in its light. The only way I can preach, not myself but Jesus Christ as Lord, is to be the servant of others for His sake. Bound to such service, I am free. Concerned with others, I am liberated from myself. Lifting others' burdens, my own seem lighter. Loving others, the capacity of my soul is expanded for the greater filling of God's love. In the service to others for Jesus' sake, I discover that Your love, O God, can reach the length of all longing and to the depth of all desire.
In the name of my Lord and for the sake of His love. Amen
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
Prayer is coming near to the fire of God's love. Prayer is absorbing the light of God's truth. Prayer is renewing our obedience to God in service to mankind. Prayer is saying, ‘Not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord.’
