Life is at work in you

“So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” (2 Corinthians 4:12)

 

‘Death is at work in us, but life is at work in you’ is the whole title of this sermon. The human soul is laid always under dual situation. That is, the conscience to follow the good and the mind to follow the evil are in confronting each other. If the Spirit of God does not dwell inside, man cannot perceive evil as evil. This is because the images of God in the body, a earthen vessel, was destroyed by sin. But Christ, Lord of Life, has come into the midst of men to make give restore the original image given from God. Accordingly, those who are with Christ, the Treasure, have become a treasure vessel that reveals God’s power. Now they have to show a shining figure, living with Christ to others.

 

Shining figure cannot be made by sitting still without endeavor. That principle to make shining figure is like what pearls are made in a shell’s body. To protect oneself from foreign substances entered into the body making hurt, the shell’s body secretes body fluid called ‘Nacre’ and are said it is made into a pearl by repeating the action of enclosing foreign substances. Can the soul be immediately at whole peace because God, the absolute good, entered man? Since the existing spirit who are familiar with the tendency of flesh and the new spirit stay together, it is only natural that they are in trouble with each other. If a child, who used to live at home under the parents, enters the school and in order to try to follow the rules, the child would might often encounter emotional conflicts. The flesh may be comfortable with sin, but the soul following Christ demands that it follow the good. Through the repeated process like that, it gradually grows into a person filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

The rain and wind in life are frustrating matters, persecution, and attacks, and etc. Snow, rain, wind, fine dust, lightening, heat, cold, etc. are constantly threatening the health of the body. People mobilize all kinds of methods and means to overcome such natural hazards. However, the natural environment is getting worse, and harder to overcome harmful situations. The situations of spiritual trials and the changes in the natural environment are not in direct proportion. Because the spiritual stability of Christians becomes stronger over time. Even if same difficulties sustain like in the past and now, the sensitivity varies depending on their mental state. People with low immunity are likely to be infected even by weak bacteria. However, healthy people can easily defeat most germs. Christians of strong faith can enjoy spiritual stability like that.

 

By carrying the death of Jesus, the Christians can have the strong spiritual power. Jesus’ crucifixion is the death for redemption, and it is the life of faith that follows Jesus’ lessons in the life of resurrection. It is Christians who are weak and are bodies to die for, but have the life in Jesus. The expression, ‘death is at work in us, but life is at work in you’ displays a meaning like that. ‘We’ points on Paul’s side and ‘you’ is Corinthian church the members, but in the contents, they also signify the dual soul’s situation, which is divided into two. ‘We’ is a position laying in suffering, and ‘you’ is a position in gaining life by listening to the gospel. Then, after all, ‘we’ or ‘you’ means a person as an individual being. That person was saved by believing in the Lord Jesus, but the trials of the soul follow him at the same time. However it is an essential process for the blessings of life.

 

The thing wishes by faith is eternal life. Believer’s life of eternity has already begun by the resurrection of Jesus. Because the believer in Jesus is a person taking part in the resurrection of Jesus. That is the basic core meaning of eternal life. Satan tried to tie Jesus to death, but God made Jesus be arisen from death. The God who made be alive Jesus makes also be alive those who believe in Him. And later, at the historic resurrection, God the Lord will make be again alive the believers. For those who do not believe in Jesus, both present and next life are laid on the vague path of uncertainty. They have no choice but to walk without confidence on the path forever. Therefore, they use commonly the words ‘accidental’ or ‘don’t know’ in daily life. Even during they work hard at something, they don’t know clearly and why they do it or how and how far they have to do.

 

He who believes in Jesus clearly recognizes the path of life. Not by knowledge, but by spiritual enlightenment and experience, he knows it. To say that you need to know everything to be trusted is a very foolish thing to say. It is like to the person who says that is the one who claims that he can see the world only when he climbs up to the end of the sky. But the person who has a soul anew in Christ, perceives spiritually what life is. In such that conviction of Christians, there is inherent a goal to glorify God with thanks and grace.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Jan 29th 2023)