2022-07-15
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We’ve been looking at the seven crowns of the Bible, e g the crowns of righteousness, life, protection, rejoicing, glory, separation, and incorruptibility. Today, we will examine the crown of incorruptibility. Remember that these crowns are not the same as diadems, which are ornamental head ware denoting royalty. Instead, these crowns are rewards in heaven that the Lord has decided an individual receiving the crown has earned in his earthly lifetime. The Incorruptible Crown is also known as the Imperishable Crown, and is referenced in 1 Corinthians 9:25.[2] This epistle, written by Paul of Tarsus, deems this crown "imperishable" in order "to contrast it with the temporal awards Paul's contemporaries pursued".[8] It is therefore given to those individuals who demonstrate "self-denial and perseverance".[8]
The way to best understand this crown, the apostle Paul put it this way, in 1 COR 9: 24-25, [Paul speaking] “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run but only one gets the prize? They run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” [LaHaye, Tim; Hindson, Edward E.; Brindle, Wayne (2004). The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy. Harvest House Publishers. p. 340. ISBN 9780736913522. Retrieved 30 April 2014] States, “This crown is promised to those who love an anticipate our Lord's appearance. These are the ones who live in the light of eternity and the expectation of Christ's imminent return. So motivated, they will not be among those who will experience shame at Christ's coming.” 1 John 2:28-29, “And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him.”
The Lord has created us with different skill sets, but He intends for us to use those skills to do His work. RO 12: 1-2, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God ---this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is---His good, pleasing and perfect will.” In God’s sight is the writer more important than the prophet, preacher, or teacher? Of course not, and that’s why RO 12: 4-5 explains, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ, we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” This would be like the parts of a body, ie kidneys, the heart, the glands, etc. all have different functions, but all those functions are designed to keep one’s body working properly.
One discussion in the Scriptures, in 1 COR 15: 54-58 really focuses on an aspect of the work of the cross that isn’t frequently taken up and reveals the degree of blessing Christ has given those who persist in their faithful obedience to Him. “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory…The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ…Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.’”
PRAYER: O Lord, You have so much to teach us and motivate us to earn the crown of incorruptibility and all Your crowns once we are called to Your side for eternity in heaven. Like many Jews who come to belief in Christianity, You enable us to feel “completed.” That is we see that all our customs and practices from the OT have been archetypes of those in the NT. We thank You and praise You for giving all of us who study Your word in its entirety a clearer picture of Your will for us and what pleases You. The Father created His second personality, His Son, so that the work of the cross in salvation for those right with God, eternal forgiveness for sin, and justification before Him would be possible. He loves us so much that He gives us the Holy Spirit, His third personality, to guide us and to help us better understand His will. It is through His most excellent grace that God loves us and forgives sin honestly and openly confessed. Our lives are given His purposes to carry out and we are given the courage to overcome the challenges, illnesses, and losses of our earthly lives [EPH 2: 8- 10]. May Your name always be blessed, honored, and praised, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit commands me to discuss the crown of protection in next week’s message. I love the fact that “nothing can separate us from the love of God,” [RO 2: 38-39]. So, when God is angry or disappointed in our work done or not done in good faith, He may not communicate with us for a time or may find a way to let us know His disappointment in us. We are created in ‘their image …’ [GN 1: 26-27], the pleural Hebrew word “Eloheim” appears here, so that the concept of one God with three personalities can be introduced later—The Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. It will be a while in our future when the day will come that all the Jews who will come to faith in Christ will have done so; it is once all the Gentiles have come to faith [RO 11: 25]. In other words, the stubbornness of the Jews in rejecting Christ is only temporary. Getting back to God’s emotions mentioned above, God allows Himself to be disappointed by serial sinning in mankind because “He cares for us” and is vulnerable to having hurt or angry emotions [1 PET 5: 6-7]. God is patient and kind, knowing it sometimes takes more time than for other people for some people to find their faith and engage in a productive career of using the skills He gives them for His work. We must be sufficiently introspective about our own lives to know if God is extending this kind of patience to us. Praise and thanks be to Him, that He loves us this much!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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