Lawrence DeMetrius

Lyrics

Letter of Apostle Paul – II Corinthians
An Intimate Review
Pt 3
By Lawrence DeMetrius

The Relevance of the Manifestation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

In [II Cor 4:3; 3:6, 8, 17; Jn 3:16; 19; 10:10b] Apostle Paul reiterates that there is no death in Jesus Christ. His primary goal is to rescue souls from death and condemnation that came as a result of Adam’s transgression. [Gen 2:9, 17; 3:1-6; St Jn 1:4; 3:16; Rm 3:23; 5:15] In fact, the only reason mortal souls inherit death and condemnation is because they chose to forfeit salvation by rejecting Jesus Christ. [St Jn 1:5; 3:19, 36; Lk 4:18, 19; I Jn 3:8-10] Apostle Paul clarifies that Christ’s GOSPEL is particular and is the only one His true brethren are to proclaim. [Rm 1:1-5; I Jn 5:4-13; Gen 3:15; Isa 9:2, 6, 7; Gal 4:4; Mt 1:18-25] Apostle Paul writes,

But if OUR GOSPEL be HID, IT is HID TO THEM that ARE LOST:
[II Cor 4:3]

*gospel Gk #2098 euaggelion (yoo-ang-ghel-ee-on) it is a good message and specifically the Gospel of Jesus Christ

*hid Gk #2572 kalupto (kal-oop-to) it means to cover up

*lost Gk #622 appullumi (ap-ol-loo-mee) it means to fully destroy, perish and lose

In [II Cor 4:4] Apostle Paul explains that those who are LOST are so because they are BLINDED by Lucifer. He writes,

In whom the god of this WORLD hath BLINDED the MINDS of them which BELIEVE NOT, lest the LIGHT of the glorious GOSPEL of Christ, Who is the IMAGE of GOD should SHINE unto them.
[II Cor 4:4]



*world Gk #165 aion (ahee-ohn) it is…
• an age which is…
o the length of time during which a being or thing exists
o length of life or existence to the time spoken of or referred to
o a period of human life, measured by years from birth, usually marked by a certain stage or degree of mental or physical development and involving legal responsibility and capacity
o the particular period of life at which a person becomes naturally or conventionally qualified or disqualified for anything
o one of the periods or stages of human life
o a historical epoch and particular period of history as distinguished from others
o the period of history contemporary with the span of an individual's life
• perpetuity including the past and implies the current world
• specifically, a Messianic period both present or future

Lucifer was given the primary seat of influence on earth when Adam disobeyed Yahweh by consuming the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. [Gen 2:9, 17; 3:1-6] However, his reign is only for a limited time. Until this timeframe ends, Lucifer is rightly designated as the GOD or PRINCE of this AGE or WORLD. [Isa 14:12; Lk 10:18-20; Jn 12:31; 16:11; Eph 2:2]

*prince Gk #758 archon (ar-khone) it is a….
• first in rank and power
• chief ruler and magistrate

*blinded Gk #5186 tuphloo (toof-lo-o) it means to…
• make blind, which is…
o being sightless, unable to see and lacking the sense of sight
o being unwilling or unable to perceive or understand
o lacking all consciousness or awareness
o having a difficult time seeing or understanding
• being obscure, which is…
o (of meaning) not clear or plain, ambiguous, vague and uncertain
o not clear to the understanding and hard to perceive
o (of language and speech) not clearly or plainly expressing the meaning
o being indistinct to the sight and any other sense
o not readily seen or heard but faint
o inconspicuous and unnoticeable
o of little to no prominence, note, fame or distinction

*mind Gk #3540 noema (no-ay-mah) it is perception, thought, intellect and purpose

Lucifer craftly works deception within the mortal MIND. By manipulating how one PERCEIVES, he can control their sentiments and influence what they believe, as he did Eve in Eden. He and his subjects have and will continue to this craftiness until the consummation of AGES.

*believe not Gk #571 apistos (ap-is-tos) it is to be…
• disbelieving and without Christian faith
• an untrustworthy person or a thing that has no credit

*image Gk #1504 eikon (i-kone) it is a…
• likeness, statue and profile
• representation or resemblance

*light Gk #5462 photismos (fo-tis-mos) it is illumination

*shine Gk #826 augazo (ow-gad-zo) it means to beam forth [Mt 11:28-30]

In [II Cor 4:5] Apostle Paul informs the Corinthian Church writing,

We PREACH not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your SERVANTS for Jesus’ sake.
[II Cor 4:5]

*preach Gk #2784 kerusso (kay-roos-so) it means to herald as a public crier, especially divine truths and Gospel of Jesus Christ

*servants Gk #1401 doulos (doo-los) it is a slave and qualified sense of subjection and subservience

Jesus Christ taught that the greatest of people are those who SERVE others with and OBEY divine precepts. [Mt 5:19; Mk 9:35] Apostle Paul writes,

For GOD, WHO commanded the LIGHT to SHINE out of DARKNES, hath shined in our hearts, to give the LIGHT of the knowledge of the glory of GOD in the Face of Jesus Christ.
[II Cor 4:6]

*light Gk #5457 phos (foce) it is luminousness, fire and light

*shine Gk #2989 lampo (lam-po) it means to beam, shine, give light and radiate brilliancy

*darkness Gk #4655 skotos (sko-tos) it is shadiness and obscurity

*heart Gk #2588 kardia (kar-dee-ah) it is the heart and is figurative of thoughts and feelings

*knowledge Gk #1108 gnosis (gno-sis) it is knowledge and the act of knowing

In this discourse, Apostle Paul is referring to the capacity of KNOWING what can be KNOWN of Yahweh. [Eno 14:1-4; Pro 1:7; 24:12; Rm 1:18, 19]

*glory Gk #1391 doxa (dox-ah) it is dignity, honor, magnificence and very apparent glory

*face Gk #4383 prosopon (pros-o-pon) it refers to the front as being toward the view of one’s person, presence, countenance, appearance, aspect and surface

It is Yahweh WHO commanded natural LIGHT to BRILLIANTLY BEAM out of natural DARKNESS, which initially covered the earth. [Gen 1:3-5] HE is also THE ONE WHO commands spiritual LIGHT to BRILLIANTLY BEAM out of spiritual DARKNESS by Christ the Word. [Isa 9:2; St Jn 1:4, 5, 9; 4:23, 24; 8:12; Mt 4:16; 11:28-30]
Yahweh chose to do so by SHINING the LIGHT of the KNOWLEDGE of HIS GLORY in the FACE of Jesus Christ, animate within the HEART of every born-again believer. It has always been the primary effort of divine messengers to direct the faith of their audience to the WORD and POWER of GOD. Never to themselves. [I Cor 1:23-29; 2:4, 5] Even the Lord Jesus attested to this practice saying,

He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on HIM that sent Me.
And he that seeth Me seeth HIM that sent Me.
I am come a light into the world that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness.
And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not for I came not to judge, but to save the world.
He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath One that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak
[Jn 12:44-50]

Teachers of the divine Gospel are instructed to never debate, argue or force their insight upon others. [II Tim 2:24-26] They must maintain that they are but EARTHEN VESSELS by which Yahweh heralds HIS WORD. [I Cor 3:7, 8] They do well to keep in mind as they administer divine words, that only a remnant from each generation will receive it. [Pro 8:17-21; Mt 6:19-21; Jn 1:11-13; 6:37-40, 44, 45, 65; 10:1-10; Rm 8:28-30; I Cor 1:18] Apostle Paul writes,

But we have this TREASURE in EARTHEN VESSELS, that the EXCELLENCY of the POWER may be of GOD, and not of us.
[II Cor 4:6, 7]

*earthen Gk #3749 ostrakinos (os-tra-kin-os) it means earthen-ware, clayey and frail

*treasure Gk #2344 thesauros (thay-sow-ros) it is a deposit and wealth


*excellency Gk #5236 huperbole (hoop-er-bol-ay) it is a throwing beyond others and supereminence, which refers to what is…
o of superior eminence, rank and dignity
o distinguished, conspicuous and worthy of note above all others

*power Gk #1411 dunamis (doo-nam-is) it is force, miraculous power and a miracle itself

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