Paul reaches the heights in his use of language to express the supremacy of Christ in one of the most profound and beautiful passages of the Bible. I imagine Paul, chained to a Roman guard perhaps, expressing himself in spoken words for Timothy or someone else to write down on parchment, trying to get as many words in as possible onto the one sheet. Paul's mind reaches the heavens at times, despite his circumstances and all his concerns with the churches and his issues with some of their adherents. Christ is: 1. The head of the Church. All denominations come together under Christ. I met with the other BoA church leaders on zoom yesterday and it is encouraging the way the Holy Spirit is working in each church. We all worship Christ. 2. He is the beginning. There was nothing before Him and He is everything we can possibly need. Thinking of the Cornerstone song: 'My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness'. 3. He was the first to rise from the dead and He is supreme over every other person who is resurrected. In other words, without His rising, we would be without hope. It is in Christ's death and resurrection that we can experience genuine hope. 4. The immensity of verse 19: God WAS PLEASED to live in all His fullness in Christ!! Paul is clear: Jesus was no demi-god, there is no need to search further. Jesus Christ is our all-in-all, because when we know Him we know the Godhead! 5. The masterplan, the stroke which destroyed Satan's power: God reconciled everything to Himself through the perfect man-Jesus Christ's- death on the cross. All the way through the Old Testament it is prophesied that this was going to happen: death could not hold a man who had no sin upon Him, as death is the penalty for sin. He promises to carry us through death to new life as we trust wholly on Him. 6. Jesus did not only bring salvation to human-kind, everything in all creation throughout the Cosmos experiences peace through His blood. 'The wonder-working power of the blood of Calvary'..http://www.thedills.net/Lyrics/Uncommon/Wonder%20Working%20Power.pdf
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See AllThe reader is reminded afresh in these few verses that Paul cared nothing about himself or his reputation, but wholly sought God's glory and the growth of His Kingdom. He also had a great heart of lov
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Paul again has to resort to irony in his exasperation at the accusations of some of the Corinthian believers. It is as if they were searching minutely for anything they could hold up against him and
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As so often happens, when someone is pushed back by unfair questions and accusations, their response is to tell their story: they may come out with reasons as to how things are or their life story o
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