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LESSON 1, VERSE 14:
Paul in verse
17 gives us the "key" to his constantly being so "driven!"
So motivated!
"For the love of Christ constraineth us,"
he says.
That verb, "sunecho,"
is quite thought provoking! It is found a dozen times in
the New Testament. It literally means "to hold" to
someone! Or "to hold" ("echo") "with" ("sun") them.
I almost want to say "to hold them in!" Or "to hold them
down!" In reality, "to keep them under control!"
Here are some
of its uses in the King James Bible. I will capitalize the
translation of "sunecho" in each reference. Note the
various renderings used.
"And His (Jesus') fame went throughout all
Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that
were taken with
divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed
with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had
the palsy; and he healed them." Mark 4:24.
(Here "sunecho" is used to mean "seized" with disease.
It's also treated this way, with sickness, in Luke 4:38 of
Peter's Wife's Mother.)
The love of
God had "seized" Paul!
"Then the whole multitude of the country
of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them;
for they were taken
with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back
again." Luke 8:37
This one is
different! "And Jesus said, Who
touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him
said, Master, the multitude
throng thee and
press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?"
Luke 8:45
Paul was
"thronged" with the Love of God!
Now Jesus is
talking about the Cross. "But I have
a baptism to be baptized with; and how
am I
straitened till
it be accomplished!" Luke 12:50
Paul was
"squeezed" or "constricted" by the Love of God!
And Jesus,
predicting Israel's soon coming judgment, promised:
"For the days shall come upon thee, that
thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee
round, and keep
thee in on every side." Luke 19:43
Paul was
"hemmed in" by the Love of God!
And read Luke
22:63. "And the men that
held Jesus mocked
him, and smote him."
The Apostle
was "arrested" and "restrained" by the Love of God!
In stoning
Stephen, the crowd ... "cried out with a
loud voice, and stopped
their ears, and ran upon him with one accord." Acts
7:57 (To squeeze one's hands over the ears ... to muffle
sound!)
Acts 18:5,
still using "sunecho," tells us:
"And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul
was pressed in
the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was
Christ."
Then, talk
about being "under the influence," note Acts 28:8.
"And it came to pass, that the
father of Publius lay
sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul
entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed
him." That's right! Here "sunecho" again
carries the idea of being overcome of sickness.
Lastly, Paul
says: "For I
am in a strait
betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ;
which is far better." Philippians 1:24
What power
this "love of Christ" has in Paul's life!
But, wait a
minute.
Is this "Love
of Christ" our love for Him or His love for us?
It of course
grammatically could be either.
But I'm sure
here Paul has in mind God's amazing love to us!
That's what he
writes so much about in his other Epistles anyway!
Paul never
brags about how much he loved Jesus!
The Paul adds
in 2nd Corinthians 5:14, "For the love of
Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died
for all, then were all dead."
Now, this gets
theological.
To "judge" ("krino")
is to exercise careful discernment. To examine carefully
in order to reach a wise conclusion.
The One who
died for all is Jesus!
Here we get a
view of the Atonement!
Paul's view.
Jesus died ("apothnesko"
as an aorist verb) once in the past! His Death is a
finished act! He will never die again! Paul has the
Cross of Calvary in view!
But ... look
... He died for all!
The
preposition "for" is "huper" or "hyper" in Greek!
Jesus died "on
our behalf!"
He died "in
our stead!"
He suffered
"in my place!'
This is
vicarious Atonement!
A
Substitutionary Death!
He died ...
not for a select few ... but for all.
If you do not
believe that, I can't change your mind.
It's just that
you are disagreeing with the greatest Bible Teacher of all time
outside of the Godhead Himself! I mean Paul the Apostle.
Paul who received every word he wrote in this 14th verse ...
straight from Almighty God. I'm speaking of divine
inspiration!
But ... if
Jesus died for all ... then "all" (all who accept Him) are
"dead!"
This places
the saved individual in a position where he or she is DEAD WITH
CHRIST! Or, DEAD IN CHRIST!
Then,
logically, we need to tell folks as they are getting saved, that
they are indeed "dying!"
"Dying" to
what they used to be!
"Dying" to
former desires!
"Dying" to the
old man!
What a change
this will bring!
This is
exactly why Paul elsewhere writes:
"I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Galatians 2:20
And what's
exciting is this.
Paul is not
through with this great thought yet!
In verse 15 he
adds even more glorious truth!
Verse 15 ...
tomorrow, Lord willing!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 2, VERSE 15:
Today, Lord
willing, we shall examine verse fifteen.
"And that He (Jesus) died for all,
that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves,
but unto him which died for them, and rose again."
2nd Corinthians 5:15
Why did Jesus
die?
Several
reasons are given in Scripture ... but primarily to save
sinners!
Also in dying
Jesus pleased the Father!
Defeated the
devil!
Populated
Heaven!
Acquired a
Bride!
And ...
according to our verse above ... that we who are saved should
"live unto Him!"
Since Jesus
died "for" us, in our stead, on our behalf ... we are henceforth
"in Christ" dead to what we formerly were! No longer
sinners! No longer condemned! No longer bound for
Hell!
He died for
all ... that all (who are saved by His Grace and through his
Blood) which then live ... "should not live unto themselves!"
Here it is
again: "And that He (Jesus)
died for all, that they
which live should not henceforth live unto themselves,
but unto him which died for them, and rose again."
The first
"live" here is a present participle. Living day by day as
God gives us breath and strength!
The second
"live" is transformed into a subjunctive present active verb,
revealing a desire or wish Paul has for the people of God!
Our longing
should be ... and our resulting achievements should indicate ...
a yearning to NOT live for ourselves!
The Christian
life is truly an unselfish life!
"Unto
themselves," the phrase, has no literal preposition in Greek.
It is expressed in the Dative case and fulfills the role of
something like an indirect object in English. "Not to live
to or for ourselves!"
That's why
Paul could say that for him ... "to live
is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians
1:21
Or why he
could encourage us all ... "Whether
therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the
glory of God." 1st Corinthians 10:31
And ...
"And whatsoever ye do, do it
heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Knowing that of the
Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye
serve the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24
The "One Who
died for us" is Jesus!
Live for
Jesus!
Live with Him
in view!
"Looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith." Hebrews 12:2
The Jesus Who
not only died "for us," but also "rose again!" This verb,
"egeiro," is an aorist passive participle! The
Resurrection is a fact of history! Its action is completed! And
as a "passive" verb, Jesus is indicated to have been raised by
the Father! As Paul says in Romans 10:9, "God hath raised
Him from the dead!" See: "That if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved." Romans 10:9
What a single
verse ... to give us a whole philosophy of the Christian life!
Talk about
"compression!"
He died for me!
I am to live for
Him!
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3, VERSE 16:
Did the
Apostle Paul know Jesus?
I mean, did he
ever see Jesus during our Lord's earthly Ministry?
Apparently so!
"We have known
Christ after the flesh!"
"Wherefore henceforth know we no man after
the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet
now henceforth know we him no more." 2nd
Corinthians 5:16
Paul has just
taught us that if a person is saved, he is experiencing the very
Life of Christ!
A Christian
believes this: Christ died for me! Therefore I too
must die to Him! I am, in fact, dead in Christ! But
... Christ did not stay dead! He was raised from the grave
by His omnipotent Father! And just as I was dead in
Christ, so now I am alive in the great ever living Christ!
Therefore the life I now live is not my own. It is Christ
Who lives in me! Henceforth, all who have been saved are
new people! Dead to the old ways ... alive unto Christ our
Lord! Even my relationships with others have changed!
I will hereafter know no person simply after the flesh! I
will only know him as a brother in Christ! A fellow
pilgrim, walking this daily spiritual journey.
At least I
believe that's the idea of what Paul has said in this Text so
far!
And in verse
16, where he specifically says that he henceforth knows no man
after the flesh, he is emphasizing the vital spiritual nature of
the Christian life!
We are talking
about total transformation!
Now Paul
"knows" men not after the flesh, but after the spirit!
The verb
"know," in Greek "eido," means to know intuitively. This
is knowledge God has imparted to you! Spirit taught
information! This is not earned knowledge. This is
"given" knowledge, God given!
Paul walks not
after the flesh! See Romans 8:4.
Paul wars not
after the flesh! See 2nd Corinthians 10:3.
And Paul
glories not after the flesh! See 2nd Corinthians 11:18.
So, certainly
Paul would not want to know any man after the flesh! To
fellowship with him on a purely human level! To converse
with him without any spiritual flavor being added to the
encounter!
Then Paul
admits that he did indeed know Jesus after the flesh!
This verb
"know" is "ginosko" in Greek and means to acquire knowledge!
This is learned knowledge! Something you gained by
diligence! Paul at some time had seen Jesus! Maybe
he even heard Him preach!
Acts 22:3
tells us that Paul (Saul) before his conversion was a student of
the great Rabbi Gamaliel. And this same Gamaliel,
according to Acts 5:34, defended the cause of the Gospel on at
least one occasion! Maybe Paul knew Jesus through his
teacher!
Think of this!
Jesus' witness to Paul had to be extremely powerful! Then
Stephen's impact too was dramatic! Paul was a "marked"
man! It would have been hard for him not to get saved!
What "conviction" he must have endured!
But ... Paul,
while still knowing Jesus, no longer knows Him merely after the
flesh!
He now knows
Him in ... "the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of
his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death!"
Philippians 3:11
So much talk
lately has centered solely around the "historical" Jesus!
Well, I would rather hear talk of the literal Jesus Who was also
sinless in life, substitutionary in death, victorious in
resurrection, amazing in ascension, powerful in intercession and
visible in His soon return!
Know the Lord
"in the Spirit" too!
Paul sure did!
Now, that's
life "on a higher plane!"
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4, VERSE 17:
The last verse
of our paragraph is powerful.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new." 2nd Corinthians 5:17
Once a man is
saved, he is "in" Christ! In Latin that preposition would
be in what's called the "locative" case. It gives the
"location" of one's existence!
The Greek
language expresses such truth in the "dative" case, which is
what we have here.
It is as if
Jesus were a great big Circle, or better yet ... a Sphere.
Then, once a being is saved, he or she is placed in That Circle!
Within that glorious Ball or Sphere ... there to live for
evermore!
We who believe
are IN Jesus, folks!
Now, I know
also that Christ is IN us too, but that's another sermon!
Paul here is
just saying that when one is born-again, he is placed IN Jesus
and things change!
That "placing"
of us into Christ Jesus is done by the Holy Spirit of God!
He indeed "baptizes" us into the Body of Christ the very second
we are saved!
Immediately
upon salvation, a Christian is "new" in Jesus! This
adjective, "kainos," means not necessarily new in time, but
fresh! Or unprecedented! Or novel! Or recently
made! Or even unworn! Or unused!
In this very
sense the NEW Testament is new!
One may be
saved chronologically at the age of 36, but he does not again
become a child physically when the miracle of salvation occurs!
Yet what does
happen is this: he becomes a newly created spiritual
individual! His spirit, having just been re-born, is but a few
seconds old! And all things are seen as fresh and pristine
and clean!
"Old" things
are gone! "Archaios" means "of old time!" See
in it the word archaeology. Ancient! Jesus, in
Matthew 5:21, spoke of them "of old time," using this word.
Apparently
when one is saved, some old things just wither and drop away!
To "pass away"
(in Greek = "parerchomai") means "to go right beside" someone
... skirting them aside!
The verb
"behold" just means "Look!"
Paul is
obviously filled with amazement and wonder! I suspect he
was thinking of his "Damascus Road" experience as he wrote.
"All things"
(in Greek = "pas") means just what it says, "everything!"
And "are
become" translates "ginomai" as a perfect active verb!
Things became new and stayed that way! This is impossible
physically ... but commonplace spiritually!
Your Christian
life and walk in the Spirit is just as fresh and exciting today
as it was years ago when you first believed! Glory to God!
Why?
Because we are
new "creatures!"
Paul compares
our very salvation to the creation account in Genesis chapter
one!
God created
the world!
And the very
same God created a new man or woman ... when he saved your soul!
That's why I
do not know anyone just like I did in past years! Formerly
we may have known a man according to the flesh. But, no
more! Not if he is "in Christ!"
He is a new
man!
You are a new
creature too!
And the new
relationship spawned by God's saving grace is according to the
Spirit, according to the things of God ... and not according to
the old rules of the world in which we live!
Let's now put
it all together:
"For
the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that
if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died
for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto
themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though
we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new."
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
GOD SURELY USED PAUL
IN A MIGHTY WAY!
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