B-A-C
Loyal
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2008
- Messages
- 11,809
Misuse of 2 Corinthians 4:18
Paul is encouraging believers to focus on eternal hope rather than temporary suffering. This verse does not mean that all physical things are meaningless or that spiritual things are the only things that matter. It’s about perspective, not dismissal of the material world.2 Corinthians 4:18 – “...we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
a.
Jesus didn’t just appear human—He became flesh. His incarnation was essential to redeem humanity.John 1:14 – “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us...”
b.
Jesus’s body was preserved and glorified, not discarded.Acts 2:31 – “...nor did His flesh suffer decay.”
Psalm 16:10 – “You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”
c.
Jesus’s resurrection and ascension were bodily, and He remains the God-Man forever.Luke 24:39 – “...a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
Acts 1:11 – “...this Jesus... will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
d.
His physical body is not a contradiction to His divinity—it’s a revelation of it.Colossians 2:9 – “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”
a.
Angels are explicitly called spirits, distinct from God.Hebrews 1:14 – “Are they not all ministering spirits...”
b.
This includes fallen angels, confirming that spiritual beings exist beyond God alone.Ephesians 6:12 – “...against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
c.
The Hebrew word for winds (ruach) often means spirits, reinforcing their spiritual nature.Psalm 104:4 – “He makes His angels winds, His ministers a flaming fire.”
1Jn 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
1Jn 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
So which spirit are you of? Do you deny John 1:14?