Faith & Love: A One Year Bible Reading Plan - Part 9Sample

In the first few chapters, Paul was compared to some of the other Christian leaders. Some of the people rejected Paul because he did not have the same wealth and status as the others. So, in chapter 4, Paul reminds the people that our glory comes from God, not from ourselves:

Verse 5: “You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

Verse 7: “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”

Paul then further clarifies in verse 10 that our glory comes from our suffering for Christ, boasting about Him, not about ourselves.

Verse 10: “Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”

Paul makes it clear that our bodies and our status are fading away, but the glory of our spirit will last forever in Christ:

Verse 16-17: “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”