10/11/2020 – Day 147 – 2 Corinthians 11 -13
“The humble man feels no jealousy or envy. He can praise God when others are preferred and blessed before him. He can bear others praised and himself forgotten, because in God’s presence he has learned to say with Paul, ‘I am nothing’ ” Andrew Murray
“God creates out of nothing. Therefore until man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him.” Martin Luther
We have already seen that Paul unfortunately was being pushed to brandish a “resume” speaking to his qualifications to witness and evangelize God’s truth. I suspect that before meeting the risen Christ, up close and most personal, he may have been anything but humble. He was a “pharisee among pharisees”. He tutored under Gamaliel, a renowned scholar and teacher.
I’m jumping to Chapter 12 to comment on his “visions of revelations of the Lord: verse 2 – 4: “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago — whether in the boy I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know. God knows — how He was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which is not lawful for a man to utter.”
Matthew Henry , in his commentary asserts that of course Paul was talking about himself. Who else could it have been? Perhaps the Apostle John, the gospel writer of Revelation, who recounts his vision of the Son of Man in all His glory beginning almost immediately in the first chapter. But I think biblical scholars are pretty much in agreement that the book of Revelation was written around 95 A.D. after John had been banished to the Isle of Patmos. Paul probably died around 68 a.d., beheaded by Nero, just prior to Nero committing suicide in June of the same year. Ok, so if John was the man Paul was talking about, John would be recounting an “out of body” experience four plus decades prior. (the Second Missionary journey to Corinth was 18 months – A.D. 52 – 53)
It is time to call it a night, so ol Jimmy can get up early tomorrow morning and function in the workplace. The Lord, I believe, is behind me getting up on a few ocassions around 3:00 am with the command : “Post My Word!” The amazing thing, I know what He wants me to post and it doesn’t take me nearly as long to articulate is as normal. And on each ocassion, I made it through the subsequent day just fine on around five hours of sleep. Donald Trump and others can do that on a consistent basis. But for me , that is evidence of Divine intervention, even for just one night. So, if I have trouble getting to sleep, another uncharacteristic experience, and if I hear His voice, I will obey.
Blessings! Always connected by His grace and through prayer…..