SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/2/2025 8:12 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
“The Promise of Eternal Blessing”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Timothy
2:11-13
Message of the verses: “11 It is a
trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; 12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If
we deny Him, He also will deny us; 13 If
we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
Today I begin the fourth motivation for faithfulness
to Christ which is the promise of eternal blessing.
We
see in this section the words It is a trustworthy statement which Paul uses
five times in the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus), however this is
found nowhere else in the New Testament.
MacArthur writes that “He seems to have used it to introduce a truth
that was axiomatic, a truism in the early church that was commonly known and
believed. The long sentence beginning For
if we died with Him and continuing through verse 13 may have been used as a
creed in the early church. Its
parallelism and rhythm suggest that these two verses (like 1 Timothy 3:16) may
have been sung as a hymn, and it is for that reason that some Greek texts and
several modern translations set it in verse form.”
Now
it is possible that the statement If we died with Him may refer to the
spiritual death of which Paul speaks in Romans chapter six, verses 4-5 and
7-8: “4 Therefore we have been buried
with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For
if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly
we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,… 7 for he who has died is
freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall
also live with Him.”
MacArthur writes “but the context of 2 Timothy 2:11
seems to suggest that Paul here has martyrdom in mind. In that case, if someone has sacrificed his
life for Christ, that is, has died with Him, that martyrdom gives evidence that
he had spiritual life in Him, and will live with Him throughout eternity. The Martyr’s hope is eternal life after
death.”
Now
once again I am writing this on a Sunday morning, and that means that this SD
will be shorter so I want to just quote one more paragraph this morning and
then will continue this section in my next SD.
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