1 Corinthians 1-4 Carnal Christians
Psalm 134:1-3 Praise and Blessing
Ps 134:1 Song of The Steps* “Look! Praise Yahweh, all you servants of Yahweh, who stand by night in Yahweh’s house! 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary. Praise Yahweh! 3 May Yahweh bless you from Zion; even he who made heaven and earth."
Observations: (*See note on Ps 120) 134:1-3 This is the last of the fifteen Step Psalms which Hezekiah wrote in response to the fifteen extra years of life that God gave him (Isaiah 38:20). Praise is the preoccupation of God's servants. Blessing is the occupation of God. When we acknowledge who He is, and respond appropriately (worship=response to revelation), we set ourselves up for His blessings. The background to this psalm is probably found in Hezekiah's instructions to the priests when he regathered them to reopen the temple in the first year of his reign.
2Chronicles 29:6 For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the LORD our God; they have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and turned their backs on Him. 10 "Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense."
Application: God blesses those who praise Him with pure hands.
Prayer: Maker of heaven and earth, may my praise of You be both day and night, and pleasing in Your sight; may You be pleased to bestow Your blessings on me and Your people. Thanks. Amen.
TMS John 14:21 Obey For Intimacy
John 14:21 “He who has My commandments
and keeps/obeys them,
it is he who loves Me.
And he who loves Me
will be loved by My Father,
and I will love him
and manifest Myself to him."
Observations: 14:21 We cannot have an intimate relationship with God, apart from abiding obedience. Jesus said it directly, a few verses earlier: John 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Love is not primarily a feeling (although feeling is usually an accompaniment). Love is a decision, an act of the will to do what is in another's best interest (usually at the expense of ourselves). Love is a decision to be loyal, and look out for the other's interests, (almost always at the cost of our own interests and ambitions). A parent who abandons a baby to go a party with friends, could not be called loving nor loyal. If we love God, we will be loyal to Him, regardless of the cost. Talk is cheap. Love is costly. Jesus wants our obedience, since, believe it or not, that's in our best interest). It's not in our best interest to do what is harmful to ourselves, nor to waste our lives on accumulating kindling (see 1Cor 3:15 below).
The one who loves and obeys Jesus' commandments will love others (Jn 13:34), and be loved by the Father and Jesus. Is that conditional love/agape? You tell me; it's got conditions. However, the benefits of an intimate relationship with the God of Creation and the King of Kings, who has demonstrated His love for you is totally worth it. Reciprocal, mutual love is the best! See Barriers to Intimacy on Truthbase.net.
Application: If you don't know and do what Jesus requires, you don't know Him very well, but that can change when you do.
Prayer: God, I want to know You. Amen.
1 Corinthians 1-4 Corinth was infamous for carnality, and the church was not much different from the culture. Christ is glorified (looks good -Matthew 5:17) when members of His Body live together in unity, which is only possible if believers draw on His grace/power to live in union with Him. As you read, note how Paul seeks to move the believers from self-centered indulgences of their pride and passions to Christ-centered service of others, and God.
Unlike Romans, Paul had been to Corinth, and they heard him teach, reason and persuade for a year and a half (Acts 18). However, given their background, they didn't immediately become like Christ when they believed, but needed to put a lot more effort into learning and maturing. Paul writes in response to reports of their problems (1:11) and specific questions they had asked him via a letter (7:1; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1). The book also has the fullest discussion in the NT of spiritual gifts, the Lord's supper, and the resurrection (which serves as the motivation for obeying).
1 Corinthians 1 God Glorifying Unity
1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 to the assembly of God which is at Corinth; those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I always thank my God concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus; 5 that in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge; 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 so that you come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; 8 who will also confirm you until the end that you may be (kjv) blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
10 Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you
- all speak the same thing and that there
- be no divisions among you, but that you
- be perfected united
- in the same mind and
- in the same judgment.
11 For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe’s household, that there are contentions/divisions among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," "I follow Apollos," "I follow Cephas," and, "I follow Christ." 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one should say that I had baptized you into my own name. 16 (I also baptized the household of Stephanas; besides them, I don’t know whether I baptized any other.)
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Good News—not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void. 18 For the word/message of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing." 20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Hasn’t God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. 22 For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Greeks, 24 but to those who are called/invited, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble; 27 but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong; 28 and God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are: 29 that no flesh should boast before God. 30 But of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption: 31 that, according as it is written, "He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord."
Observations: 1:1-9 Paul, who was directly and vocally called to be an apostle, writes to the church/assembly at Corinth, those who are set apart or sanctified in Christ (that means they are believers), and called (as in a written invitation to a future event) to be saints (holy ones), along with all the other believers (Rm 10:14) who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Messiah. As with the Romans he wishes them the blessings of grace and peace, and instructs them about how to get blessed. He starts with thanking God for the confirming grace He gave them (since there wasn't a whole lot else that was praiseworthy about their behavior). Note that the manifestations of the Spirit were given to confirm the testimony of Christ (Mk 16:20), and enable them to successfully wait for the return of the Messiah. All seven times “wait” is used in the NT, it refers to the expectation of the hope of the Messiah's reward when He glorifies His saints (Rm 8:19, 23, 25; Gal 5:5; Phil 3:20; Heb 9:28) at His revelation (1Pt 1). God will establish them so they may be blameless when Christ returns. God called/invited people into fellowship (union) with Jesus, and it is such abiding that results in blamelessness (being above reproach, nothing that anyone can find fault about, a condition that the carnal Corinthians don't possess, yet). This word is used in Col 1:22; 1Tim 3:10; Titus 1:6-7.
1:10-16 Verse 10 is a great statement of the unity God desires for Bodies of believers. Note the characteristics in the text. It's not outward conformity or uniformity, but an inner embracing of the will of God as revealed by the Spirit of Truth, in the objective word (mostly) and subjectively (when necessary) in the minds of those submitted to the word and Lordship of Christ. People can't know the subjective will of God if they aren't doing the objective will (because He is not on speaking terms with rebellious sinners, except to tell them to repent). Group-speak and group-think are usually dangerous, unless people are thinking Biblically and speaking the truth. Then there is a basis for unity. Notice that “same judgment” indicates that there has been debate and discussion, and a verdict has been reached based upon the facts (correctly), not preconceptions, nor theories.
Paul address the disunity of factions. When people get their worth and value from being individually pleasing to God, they aren't as concerned about group affiliation. Nationalists, Nazis, rabid sports fans, gang-members and those who cling to ethnic or affiliation (college, corporation, church, culture) identities as a basis of their worth and value usually have nothing intrinsically or meritoriously valuable about them. Unless one finds their identity as a faithful child of God, and their worth from being pleasing in His sight (through doing what is right in His sight), they will seek it in all the wrong places, and lose value from God. (See The Magic Lamp of Self-esteem on Truthbase.net for outline.)
1:17-31 God didn't send Paul to baptize (must not be that crucial in the overall scheme of things) but to proclaim the message of the cross (which is that Christ died for our sins so we don't have to die). This is a weak and foolish message to those who look for power and wise words. It is through the “foolish” message that people are saved, and receive wisdom and power, and righteousness, and holiness, and redemption/reward (Rom 8:23). Christ will be seen as powerful and wise when He returns, and no one will boast or glory in anyone or anything other than Him.
Application: The kind of unity God desires members of Christ's Body to have is only achieved by all the parts being correctly united to the Head, and each other.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, may my worth and value come from my relationship with You, and living in obedience to Your will; may my relationships with other believers glorify You by exhibiting the unity You desire. Amen.
1 Corinthians 2 The Mature Understand, The Carnal Don't
2:1 When I came to you, brothers, I didn’t come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6 We speak wisdom, however, among those who are mature; yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained/pre-planned before the worlds for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written, "Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear, which didn’t enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who love him." 10 But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God, except God’s Spirit. 12 But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, interpreting spiritual “things” to spiritual “people.” 14 Now the natural man doesn’t receive/accept the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he can’t intimately know them, because they are spiritually discerned/judged. 15 But he who is spiritual discerns/judges all things, and he himself is judged by no one. 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him?" But we have Christ’s mind.
Observations: 2:1-6 When Paul was at Corinth for a year and a half (Acts 18:1-17), he didn't use fancy schmancy Greek rhetoric to convince his hearers, but he reasoned/debated and persuaded about the facts of Jesus the prophesied Messiah and his death (and its benefits). People believed the words and were baptized. Acts doesn't mention Paul performing miracles in Corinth which engendered belief as had happened at other places (Acts 13:12; 15:12; 19:11).
2:7-15 Paul isn't opposed to wisdom, and in fact, speaks it among the mature. This wisdom is the previously undisclosed (mystery -Rm 11:25; 16:25; Eph 1, 3) plan of God which He had planned for our glory. Note this is not for our forgiveness, but our glorification, reversing the effects of the Fall. If you don't fully understand this, please see comments at end of Romans 16). Had people understood that the Messiah was bringing the glory they craved, they wouldn't have crucified the Lord of Glory, who gives that glory to those who loyally love/serve Him. The blessings God has planned for those who love Him (see John 14:21 in the TMS above) go far beyond what we could even imagine. Trust that if there is anything in this cursed world that you like, God will have something hugely better in the future for those who are loyal to Him.
God has revealed His plan to the miracle working apostles, not you and me, unless we study their words. Only the miracle working Spirit knows the mind of God and has communicated that to the miracle working apostles (these are the "we" to which verse 12 refers to, not every believer). They are the ones who have the mind of Christ. The only way non-apostles develop that is though renewing our minds in the accurately understood word.
The last phrase of verse 13 is frequently not understood. Literally it's three Greek words: “spiritual spiritual together-judge.” The first is a dative adjective (indirect object), the second an accusative adjective (direct object), and the verb is a present participle (modifying how Paul and the apostles speak). The verb means to “judge together” or closely compare, or interpret or explain. A decent rendering is “interpreting/explaining spiritual (truths) to spiritual men (note the contrast in the next phrase with natural men). Those who haven't accepted Christ, and thus don't have His Spirit, don't receive/accept or appropriate the things of God's Spirit because they are “spiritually” discerned/appraised. “Discerned” in verse 14 is the same word for interpreted or discern/judged in the verses before and after. Unbelievers can trace the argument and meaning of a passage better than believers sometimes, so the issue isn't being able to understand the words, but to accept and embrace them, and thus experience or “intimately know” them. The “spiritual men” to whom Paul explains the wisdom of God are able to accept it, not because of some magic work of the Holy Spirit (because then all believers would understand accurately, and all commentaries by prayerful believers would agree), but rather they accept it because they approach the truth from a spiritual rather than carnal perspective (they value the spiritual, as shown by their reception of Christ). They also have experienced the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in their lives (Jn 16:8) and are more “in tune” with the Spirit of Truth who wants to communicate to them His truth. Alas, this is not the case with many, otherwise they'd know and apply/obey the Scriptures better. See 1Cor 3:1 where being spiritual is contrasted with being a babe in Christ. The one who looks at things from a “spiritual” perspective, discerns (comparatively judges) the truth about all things.
Application: Go beyond the cross to maturity, as you understand and accept the message of glory.
Heb 6:1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Prayer: God, I trust that whatever You have planned for me as I follow You is far, far better than anything I could dream up on my own. Please give me diligence to understand Your word so I can share it with others. Thanks. Amen.
1 Corinthians 3 Carnal Christians Get Burned
3:1 Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready, 3 for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men? 4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," aren’t you fleshly?
5 Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him? 6 I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase/growth. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 But if anyone builds on the foundation with
gold, silver, costly stones,
wood, hay, or stubble;
13 each man’s work will be revealed.
For the Day will declare it,
because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is.
14 If any man’s work remains which he built on it,
he will receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work is burned,
he will suffer loss,
but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.
16 Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys/defiles the temple of God, God will destroy/defile him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He has taken the wise in their craftiness." 20 And again, "The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless." 21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours, 23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
Observations: 3:1-4 A babe in Christ is a fleshly/carnal, immature, non-spiritual believer, who walks/lives like an unbeliever, with an unbeliever's values, who will receive no reward. Their lack of progress and growth in Christ keeps them a creepy caterpillar, causing strife, jealous of the butterflies who sip nectar from the flowers. They try to get worth by crawling over others. Yes, there are such critters as carnal Christians; not a pretty sight.
3:5-9 Believers who are rewarded for their service are those who've actually served. You can't hear “Well done!” unless you've done something praiseworthy. Paul planted the seed of God's word, and Apollos watered it, but God gave the growth. Farmers don't really grow anything, they tend soil, pull weeds, and trim off/prune unprofitable or diseased growth (they also protect it from dangers).
3:10-15 Please make sure you totally understand this passage. If you're a carnal Christian, it might be your motivation to be metamorphosized (Rm 12:1-2). Paul laid the foundation of Christ, which means he preached the death and resurrection of Jesus as the basis of forgiveness for sins. This can't be redone, and when all is said and done, is all that remains of the life of a carnal Christian. Jesus died for your sins so you don't go into the lake of fire. You believed it, and became a child of God. Now are you going to be a good son/daughter or a rotten, unprofitable one? The good, spiritually minded ones build on their justification, using valuable, costly and difficult materials (gold, silver, and precious stones, which have to be mined and refined).
The carnal caterpillar uses whatever is easy, and piles it up to look good. But when Christ returns, everyone's work will be judged by fire. Only the good spiritual building remains. Everything else goes up in smoke. The mature who serve in building up others, get rewarded. They carnal babes lose everything, including their pampers in the fire. (Most likely the burning of their works in the garbage dump of Gehenna -See comments on Mt 5). They will still be saved, but will spend the Kingdom singed and smokey. Suffer loss involves suffering. Here are the only NT usages of loss: Mt 16:26; Mk 8:36l Lk 9:25; 2Cor 7:9; Phil 3:8. How happy would you be if everything you valued and gave your life to, vanished in flames?
3:16-17 But, wait, it gets worse. Believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, thus being God's temple, both individually (1Cor 6:19) and corporately. The corporate aspect is in view here, since that's the thing that can be destroyed by carnal Christians doing their own thing and violating the unity God desires (1Pt 2:5). The temple destroyer/defiler (same word) will themselves be destroyed/defiled. Defiled is the better translation since the consequence is a loss of the holiness which is needed for service in the present and reward in the future.
3:18-23 Paul concludes the argument in this chapter with a reminder not to be self-deceived (believing what you want, rather than all that is revealed). The context is negative judgment for worldly Christians who disrupt unity by their lack of maturity (they're the people who would not have followed Christ to the next town, as the initial disciples did). The immature get worth and value not from God's approval and anticipated reward, but from human sources.
Application: God never stops being just. What about suffer loss, and God destroying, do you not understand? To avoid that fate, build, and do so with what will endure. What have you built that will last for eternity?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me be a wise builder on the foundation of Christ, doing the things that will endure; show me where I might be deceiving myself about what You've revealed. Thanks. Amen.
1 Corinthians 4 Carnal Pride
4:1 So let a man think of us as Christ’s servants, and stewards of God’s mysteries. 2 Here, moreover, it is required of stewards, that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man’s judgment. Yes, I don’t judge my own self. 4 For I know nothing against myself. Yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
6 Now these things, brothers, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to think beyond the things which are written, that none of you be puffed up against one another. 7 For who makes you different? And what do you have that you didn’t receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? 8 You are already filled. You have already become rich. You have come to reign without us. Yes, and I wish that you did reign, that we also might reign with you. 9 For, I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last of all, like men sentenced to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and men. 10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You have honor, but we have dishonor. 11 Even to this present hour we hunger, thirst, are naked, are beaten, and have no certain dwelling place. 12 We toil, working with our own hands. When people curse us, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure. 13 Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, the dirt wiped off by all, even until now.
14 I don’t write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News. 16 I beg you therefore, be imitators of me.
17 Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every assembly. 18 Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing. And I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. 20 For the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 21 What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?
Observations: 4:1-5 Paul was very conscious of facing the Lord's future judgment (Acts 24:16; 1Cor 9:27). The judgment is not on whether or not a person has believed in Christ; the judgment is of believers for their faithfulness. God will judge us for all He's entrusted to us. Paul admonishes the Corinthians to not judge each other because it's the judgment of the Lord that matters. The Lord will bring to light the motives of the heart. Why we do what we do is more important than the trivial externalities most times. So it is important to examine ourselves and question the motives of those we love who are deceived to bring them to an awareness of what their behavior looks like (see the Ministry of Reproof).
4:6-13 In one of the most sarcastic passages of Scripture, Paul rebuffs the pride of the carnal Corinthians, who think incorrectly, going beyond what the Scriptures reveal, and put each other down. Their pride even spilled out into their attitude toward Paul, as if they had already been exalted (perhaps due to their “gifts” or “wisdom”).
4:14-20 Paul humbly but firmly reminds them that he is their father in Christ, and they should imitate him and follow his teachings. To that end he sends Timothy to remind them of what Paul had taught and still taught all the believers. Those who were disrespecting Paul and his teaching were acting as if he were not coming (just like many people act regarding Christ). But when it was in the Lord's will to do so, he would visit, and it wouldn't be pleasant for those who had big words, but no power. If they repented, Paul would visit in love and gentleness. Otherwise they would face the disciplinary rod of the powerful apostle, through whom God worked mightily.
Application: Since we'll be judged by Christ for our faithfulness to His commands, we should focus on being pleasing in His sight, not puffed up in the sight of others.
Prayer: God, thanks that a focus on faithfulness frees me from the temptation to think improperly about myself, and enables me to serve the needs of others, to receive praise from You. Amen.
Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: God is the giver of all grace which should be used to build His church. He is glorified by the unity among believers, and will judge those who destroy the church.
Build-a-Jesus: Christ Jesus was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, a complete package of present and future salvation, which we experience as we are in union with Him (faithful daily dependent obedience).
Us in a nutshell: We need to humble ourselves in submission to the Lord Jesus, to live in unity with others, being faithful stewards of all He's entrusted to us, for we will have to give an account.
Where to Go for More:
Truthbase.net
