How can I become a more cheerful giver?
We can learn to be a cheerful giver by studying the greatest giver this world has ever known: Jesus Christ. Leaving behind the riches and glory of His heavenly kingdom, He came to Earth and willingly gave His life so that we could keep ours. As God predestined His children to be conformed to the…
What does it mean to be absent from the body (2 Corinthians 5:8)?
The phrase absent from the body is found in 2 Corinthians 5:6–8. Paul states that he is confident in his eternal destiny and longs for the day when he can be “absent from the body” and be present with the Lord he loves and serves. To be “absent” from one’s body simply means to die…
How is Satan god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4)?
The phrase god of this world (or god of this age) indicates that Satan is the major influence on the ideals, opinions, goals, and views of the majority of people. His influence encompasses the world’s philosophies, education, and commerce. When people live as if there is no God, they by default follow the god of…
What does it mean to be an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20)?
In a letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul discusses the ministry of reconciliation, and he uses the term “ambassadors” for Christ: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins…
What does it mean that a Christian is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)?
The new creation is described in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” The word “therefore” refers us back to verses 14-16 where Paul tells us that all believers have died with Christ and no longer live for themselves. Our…
What does it mean that Satan masquerades as an angel of light?
Darkness and light are metaphors for evil and good. If anyone sees an angel of light, it will automatically seem to be a good being, for the correlation of evil with darkness, and of good with light, is a powerful archetype in human history. In the Bible, light is a spiritual metaphor for truth and…
What does it mean to be unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14)?
The phrase “unequally yoked” comes from 2 Corinthians 6:14 in the King James Version: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” The New American Standard Version says, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and…