Standing Firm in Christ
Hello friends:
This morning as I was reading the Bible and journaling, the Holy Spirit “astonished” me with insight from his Word. Below is my journal entry. I use a journaling method taught to me by Dr. Wayne Cordero, Lead Pastor of New Hope Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii. We filmed a video a number of years ago to help ordinary apprentices of Jesus engage with God through the Bible. You can find the video here. I pray my journal entry encourages you in your identity in Christ as a follower of Jesus.
Jorge
Standing Firm in Christ
Scripture:
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (NIV)
Observation:
I have taught for years that Paul’s typical writing style in his letters to the churches that he and his missionary band established was two-fold. The first part of his letters usually focus on their “position in Christ” and the second part of his letters focus on their “condition in Christ.” Part 1 is all about the benefits of the gift of salvation generously given by God to those who put their faith in Christ. Part 2 is all about the real-time struggles Christ-followers have living into their position in Christ. Paul begins calling followers of Jesus in a town or a region “saints” and ends with pointing out all the ways they are not being “saintly.” Here at the beginning of 2 Corinthians, Paul follows this pattern and reminds the Corinthian apprentices of Jesus that God has made them “stand firm in Christ” (1:21a). Then he gives three evidences of this: 1) God anointed them, 2) God set his seal of ownership on them, and 3) God put his Spirit in their hearts (1:21b-22). I was captured by number 2 this morning, God set his seal of ownership on them.
Application:
What does it mean to have God “set his seal of ownership on us?” A quick Logos search and I found this commentary:
Although this idea of (1) ownership is primary, two further ideas attach to the word: (2) authentication, in that a person’s seal was the guarantee that the goods in question were exactly what they were described to be, both in nature and in quantity, and (3) security, in that with the seal owners pledged themselves to protect the thing so identified, thus preventing any tampering with the goods while in transit. If these three concepts are implied when Paul says that God has “sealed” believers, he means that God (1) has “branded” believers as his property, (2) has attested the reality of their status in Christ, and (3) has guaranteed their “protection in transit” as his permanent and inviolable possession.
Murray J. Harris, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text
This is powerful for my identity in Christ. God’s ownership of me means I have been branded as God’s property. I’m one of his sheep! God has confirmed my secure relationship with Christ. As one of his sheep, I can lived secured because of his shepherding care. And he has guaranteed my “delivery” on the journey of faith. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6 NIV). That’s why I can stand firm in Christ! Paul’s wisdom of addressing my “position in Christ” first is profound. When I live secured in my identity as a “child of God, person of worth,” my “condition in Christ” will flow from it. When I get all jacked up and live in my false identity of performance and achievement (my spiritual arch-nemesis and imposter), my behavior is likely to drift into unhealthy and unholy places. Instead of living in security, I will live in self-doubt. I will take back ownership of my life and live by the mantra, “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me” instead of “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). Standing firm in Christ is not something I muster up. It’s a gift of grace I receive not a status I achieve.
Prayer:
Lord, today I receive my identity in Christ as a gift. By your Spirit, help me to stand firm in Christ. Quicken my spirit when I drift into my fleshly and demonic propensity to performance and achievement. Thank you for setting your seal of ownership on me. I am yours and you are mine. Amen.
