Our Boasting Is Not on Worldly Wisdom But on God’s Grace (2 Corinthians 1:12)

“Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.” (2 Corinthians 1:12 NIV)

What is our boasting? Christ Jesus is our boasting only. Nothing else can be, ever. Achievements, status, wealth, no no. Whatever done relying on worldly wisdom will disappear and be wasted. Only things done relying on God’s grace will last forever. God is holy and true. There is no value in man who is born of Adam. “But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.” (John 2:24-25 NIV) “But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” (Matthew 15:18-19 NIV)

God’s grace is desperately in want for humanity and thus as He promised He sent His Son Christ Jesus that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. By and though His grace, man has been redeemed, being restored to have value in God. The state of man in Adam is absolutely useless and hopeless in the sight of God. That’s what we are in Adam. We were plainly and completely dead in sins and trespasses, says Apostle Paul (Ephesians 2:1). What do you do with the dead? Let the dead be buried, precisely. Why, because the dead are useless and inoperable.

In due time, God sent His Son Christ Jesus to redeem the dead through the ransom of His life on the cross in Calvary, making the dead alive through the power of resurrection. That’s what happened to every believer in Christ Jesus. Since we have been made alive by the power of God, nothing can harm or separate us from the bondage to the righteousness of God.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39 NIV)

Although our bodies are still under the influence and access of sin, our spirits are liberated completely and perfectly through the cleansing power of the blood of Christ Jesus once for all. Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, says the scripture (Romans 8:1). That’s the reason Apostle Paul boast of confidently, saying “Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.” (2 Corinthians 1:12 NIV)

Paul is not lying here that he conducted with integrity and godly sincerity because he did not rely on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. All worldly wisdom is coming from the devil, the mastermind of deception. Darkness and confusion are the ultimate destiny of worldly wisdom without exception. But God is light and no shadow of turning in Him. He is straight and firm like the bedrock. The grace of God made us alive and stand still in the midst of storms and turmoil with all integrity and godly sincerity. That’s Paul’s boasting, yours and mine.

Shun Sexual Immorality, Pornography For You Are Not Your Own

"All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (I Corinthians 6:12-20 NKJV)

Who is so great a God as our God?

"I cried out to God with my voice— To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, The years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search. Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah And I said, “This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds. Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God? You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled. The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known. You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalms 77:1-20 NKJV)

A New Commandment (John 13:34)

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34 NKJV)

What is the new command? The new command is the same as the old command, “Love your neighbor as yourself” except Jesus added the phrase “As I have loved you.” Jesus has set the example how to love one another. While we were still sinners, He laid down His life unto the Father not because He did anything wrong but because He paid the price of our sin in an obedience to the Father. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV)

He did not come to condemn the world but to save. He did not come to be served but to serve. He was not welcomed but rejected by the world. However, He did not change His plan to die on the cross in Calvary not because we deserved but because we were ignorantly in unbelief as the victims of the vicious and cunning enemy, the devil. He had compassion upon us who were groping in frustration and confusion and darkness, always going astray like sheep. He endured and embraced our trespasses and inequities to the end with the maximum extent of His unfailing love.

Prophet Isaiah foretold the ministry of the Son of God some seven hundred years before Christ came. He is so compassionate and merciful that He does not even break a bruised reed, nor quench smoldering wick.

“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,

My Elect One in whom My soul delights!

I have put My Spirit upon Him;

He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,

Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.

A bruised reed He will not break,

And smoking flax He will not quench;

He will bring forth justice for truth.

He will not fail nor be discouraged,

Till He has established justice in the earth;

And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” (Isaiah 42:1-4 NKJV)

He was reviled but did not revile in return because He entrusted the Father who will get justice, even quickly. “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ‘Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth’; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (2 Peter 2:21-25 NKJV)

In fact, the only Person who can love unconditionally is Christ the Son of God. That’s why God promised to send His Spirit to those who believe in Christ the Son of God. That’s Christ in you, the hope of glory. The living God Christ Jesus indwells within us who believe in Him by means of the Holy Spirit forever. We cannot love anyone, not even our families, but God can love even the enemies. See Jesus Christ is the proof of His unconditional and faithful love upon us who didn’t deserve at all. So, we can love one another as Christ has loved us, precisely. As a matter of fact, we don’t love but Christ in us does when we admit the fact that we died to sin in body and spirit.

Under the new commandment, God demands that we must love one another and fulfills that demand by providing the power to do it. That power is to raise the dead as happened to Jesus Christ who rose again from the dead on the third day according to the scriptures. That’s the new way of living for all Christians now and forevermore.

God Stretches out His Hand to All People (Mark 7:31-35)

“Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. (Mark 7:31-35 NKJV)

This event shows how we were reached out to know Jesus Christ and be healed from the deadly muteness and deafness. The man who was deaf and hardly spoke was brought to Jesus. He was isolated, ignored, outcast, and disregarded by the townspeople. He was such a poor person that he was out of reach from all source of life. His presence represents the Gentiles who were completely out of reach from the blessings and promises of God. We were once all like this man who was found in Jesus Christ. It was in the Gentile territory where Jesus came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.

When the man brought to Jesus, He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. It seems a bit strange but the most appropriate in reaching out to the man. Jesus put His fingers in the man’s ears to get his attention, awakening his interest to the Lord Jesus and telling him that He would do something for hearing. The act of Jesus was designed to arouse the man’s faith through which he would be restored in hearing.

And Jesus spat and touched the man’s tongue. To spit someone could mean insulting and very offensive. However, the Lord Jesus spat and touched his tongue anyways. The word of God is coming out of the mouth of God, says the scripture. The act of Jesus symbolizes that He utters the word of God to the man who was the deaf, intending to heal the man in speaking.

Then, looking up into heaven, Jesus sighed and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” Immediately his ears were opened and the impediment of his tongue was loosed. The man was fully and completely restored both in hearing and speaking. Jesus looked up into heaven because He was seeing the Father in heaven who wanted to heal this man. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19 NKJV)

Before Jesus healed the man, He sighed. Why did He sigh? It’s because the man who were mute and deaf represents the fallen race. We were all dead in trespasses and sins, says the scripture. All were in darkness and frustration, not knowing the light of truth. All have gone astray like sheep, says Isaiah. But God reached out His hands to lay on His Son the iniquity of all.

“But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5 NKJV)

The acts of putting His fingers in the ears of the deaf and spitting and touching the tongues of the mute are stilling going on through the saints in our age. Think about how you were reached out by the hand of God. Probably as many as hundreds of people may be involved to reach you out to be restored and healed from the deadly poison of darkness and confusion. Christ is in each individual believer who is used together with other saints to fulfill the will of the Father.

“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” (Colossians 1:19-23 NKJV)