2 Timothy 2:19
19 Nevertheless [mentoi] the
foundation [themelios] of God [theos] standeth [histemi] sure, [stereos] having [echo] this [taute] seal, [sphragis] The Lord [kurios] knoweth [ginosko] them that
are [on] his. [autos] And, [kai] Let [aphistemi] every one [pas] that nameth
[onomazo] the name [onoma] of Christ [Christos] depart
[aphistemi] from [apo] iniquity. [adikia] KJV-Interlinear
19
Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The
Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name
of the Lord abstain from wickedness." NASB
Nevertheless, begins a
contrast, which means that regardless of how you conduct your life, regardless
of how the world functions, regardless of whether you are positive or negative
in your spiritual life, there is a foundation of truth that exists. And that foundation will always exist.
Your attitude won’t
ever change it. Your beliefs will never
alter it. Society can do nothing, even
by consensus, to compromise the truth.
The foundation, is an
underlying sub-structure upon which the main structure is built. The main structure is only as good as the
foundation.
And that foundation,
among its many components, is that God knows who belongs to Him, and, that
among those who belong to Him, abstinence from wickedness is a mandatory.
Depart or abstain, ‘aphistemi,’
means to revolt, to desist, to desert, to refrain. And this means just that. A believer must abandon the former ways of
life (sin) and replace it them with a better way, (spiritual fellowship and
growth).
The carnal life and the
spiritual life are mutually exclusive.
There is no place for both in a persons life. That would be like being married but playing
around a little here, a little there, thus cheating and justifying it.
The spiritual life is
not there for arbitrary use, or for convenient use, or occasional use, just to
mix in with the carnal life and to be used for guilt medicine.
God knows who belongs
to Him. And just who belongs to
God? Believers, and believers only. The seal, ‘sphragis,’ means ownership. And God owns believers. Unbelievers are not in this picture, except
that they are not owned, nor a part of Gods possessions. That is accomplished in only one way and that
is by means of the individual believing in Christ.
We place ourselves as
Gods possession, voluntarily of our own free will, because His ownership is far
better and preferable to being owned by the world, which offers nothing but the
Lake of Fire or zero reward, for a future.
No person is autonomous
to themselves. You are either owned by
God, or by this world. You are
controlled by Gods truth, or by the cosmos of evil. There is no third choice.
There is but one certainty
in life, and that is Gods essence, and accompanying that essence is Gods
steadfastness, God assurance, Gods security of purpose and intent.
There is nothing else upon
which you can rely, nothing else to which you can turn, nothing else that will
provide anything other than an empty life.
As an unbeliever, you
have but one question put to you, ‘What do you think of Christ?’ Apart from that question, you have absolutely
nothing.
Once you answer that
question with faith in Christ, and are thus saved, then you have a second
question, which is a set of questions, repeated over and over, again and again,
and that question series is, ‘What do you think of doctrine?’
From that question your
spiritual life and growth is determined.
As a believer, you have
placed before you a daily question, as to whether you will study, and learn,
and apply doctrines to your life, and thus grow up, or not.
And the mandate here,
is to abstain from wickedness. In order
to do that you have to grow up. And in
order to grow up, you have to learn. And
in order to learn, you have to study as mandated back in verse 15.
Therefore, there are
two certain things in life – Gods ownership, which means eternal security, and second
there is spiritual maturity, which means eternal reward. Both things mean a destiny that is beyond your
imagination.
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