Tag: spiritual

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Philippians 1:19b – Deliverance

Picture of a man running a race (Pixabay)

… what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.

Summary: It turns out that Paul’s statement about deliverance is not as simple as it sounds. Exploring the possible meanings of the word opens doors to better understanding our role as Christians. 

What does Paul need to be delivered from? 

The easy answer to this question is that Paul is in prison, and he wants to be released, free to pursue his mission of spreading the Gospel. Unfortunately, that doesn’t feel very satisfying. 

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Colossians 2:12b – The Workings of God

… in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Summary: Understanding Paul’s language requires understanding the reality of the spiritual realm. 

If being “buried with him in baptism” is a metaphor for spiritual things, how much more is the rest of Paul’s sentence?

Actually, Paul’s sentence is more of a “mixed metaphor.”

The last part, where he writes “the working of God, who raised him [Jesus] from the dead,” is literal and true. God did raise Jesus from the dead. This same Jesus whom God raised to life two thousand years ago is alive today.

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