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2 Corinthians 4:18 (Final Post)

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Time is a big deal. Our daily lives are driven by a schedule of activities that start at a certain time, last a certain amount of time and have us rushing to make it to each. We spend time. We waste time. Occasionally, we manage to find a little time. We value time in our society. It is a precious commodity that is expended each day that we can never get back.

Because time is so interwoven into our lives we can’t comprehend eternity. Some of you have heard me say, “God doesn’t wear a watch.” It’s my simplistic way of saying that God is not confined by time. So as we focus on the last portion of 2 Corinthians 4:18 – “BUT WHAT IS UNSEEN IS ETERNAL”, I want us to think and to pray about eternity. What is eternal? Can you comprehend the importance of things that are eternal?

2 Corinthians 4:18

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Vision – the faculty or state of being able to see. Something that you imagine : a picture that you see in your mind. Something that you see or dream especially as part of a religious or supernatural experience. This is the Merriam-Webster definition of vision.

“BUT ON WHAT IS UNSEEN” This is our focus today. When we focus on the “UNSEEN” we focus on the spiritual and deepen our vision on Christ. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” If we believe God loves us deeply, then doesn’t it make sense that He wants the best for us in this life? God wants to guide us in our decisions, but the world wants to distract us. For us to know and embrace God’s perfect will for our lives, we have to change our focus on the things that are unseen. I hope you will reflect on this today as you study these words.

Verse Recap

Greetings sons’ and daughters’ of God! I wanted to give a recap of where we have been thus far. Below are the verses we have studied since the inception of Bible Verse Text Group:

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”

Psalm 46:10 “He says, ‘Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:14

“AND MADE HIS DWELLING AMONG US.”

I know it’s Saturday and hopefully, you got to sleep in, or you had somewhere you had to go, and maybe you are planning on watching football. But take these few minutes to reflect on this next statement – “AND HE MADE HIS DWELLING AMONG US”.

He, who we learned in John1:1 was with the Father at the beginning of creation. He, who was, is and forever will be, came to be with us in the flesh and made His dwelling among us. God loved you so much that He sent His son to not only dwell among us, but to give us the perfect model of love. He took on human form to dwell among humanity with all of the temptations of our sinful nature, yet He lived without sin. The reason He was born and came into the world was to testify to the truth. He not only died on the cross to redeem us from our sin, but he showed us the way, the truth, and the life.

Volumes of books have been written to explain this, but simply put, although we have a sinful nature, Jesus gave us a way to overcome our sin and walk in freedom. He showed us the model of how we can live an abundant life through Him. If we have accepted Him, He has set us free from sin. We still have a sinful nature and we are still tempted, BUT He has set us free from sin and we can walk in that freedom.

Romans 12:2

Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

“BUT BE TRANSFORMED” I get excited when I say those words – “BUT BE TRANSFORMED”. Okay, I know it’s Saturday, but we need to do a brief English lesson to appreciate these three words -“BUT BE TRANSFORMED”:

BUT – The word “but” is a conjunction. It is used to link ideas that contrast.  Paul* uses “BUT” to contrast what he tells us not to do – “DO NOT CONFORM TO THE PATTERN OF THIS WORLD” – with what we should do.

BE – You English majors know that the word “be” is a verb, a word to describe an action. “To be or not to be…”

TRANSFORMED – a dramatic change in character, or appearance.  We’re not talking subtle here, we are talking dramatic.

So today, as we enjoy our Saturday, our college football, our barbecue, or hamburgers, just take a moment, one or maybe two, to reflect on being transformed – “BUT BE TRANSFORMED”.

 

* Paul didn’t actually use the word “but” as the English language didn’t exist. Paul probably wrote the Letter to the Romans in Greek, although he probably spoke daily in Aramaic and in Hebrew.

 

Romans 12:2

Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

To supplement Bible Verse Text, I have decided to begin posting our verses via a blog site. This additional medium allows us to go a little deeper into the verse, allow commentary, and provide a way that you can share this study of God’s word with your friends and family.

Since this is the first post, I think it appropriate to outline the purpose of our group. God has provided us an immense amount of knowledge (I would call it perfect) about who He is, how much He loves us, how we should seek and love Him, and how we should walk out this journey together to live life with joy in spite of a world that can often be hard and cruel. God loves you and me so much that he has given us this “owner’s manual” for life to show us how much He loves us and to guide and navigate us through the trials and struggles we all face.

There are 31,102 verses in the bible (23,145 in the Old Testament, and 7,957 in the New Testament). Yet, how many verses have we learned and placed on our heart? How many Christians do you know that can quote scripture? I haven’t seen any research or survey numbers, but I would say it is safe that most Christians can only quote a few verses. Is it any wonder we struggle as we do when we don’t know the instruction manual our divine Creator has given us to live by.

I hope you will continue with me on this journey of God’s word together!

Jim