Good morning. For God has shut up all in disobedience that
He might show mercy to all. Remember that all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God. Instead of everyone starting off righteous (like Adam) and then
losing their righteousness some time later, everybody starts off a sinner and
then (some of them) some time later obtain righteousness. Oh, the depth of the
riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments
and unfathomable His ways! It is not the way we would have done it, if we had
been God. Thankfully, He knew what was the best way. Who has known the mind of
the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it
might be paid back to Him again? Of course the answer is no one. Thank goodness
it was not up to us to tell Him how He should do it. For from Him and through
Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Can I get a big
amen to that? Father thank You that You knew the best way to do everything.
Help us to look at others not as enemies, but as future fellow believers.
Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me
Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
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