Walk By Faith, Not By Sight
Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that “faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” So to walk by faith and not by sight means we walk in hope. I am currently a minister of music and we are getting ready for the advent season. On the first Sunday of advent, we light the candle of hope to remember the prophets of old who hoped for the Messiah. They didn’t hope, as in wish that a Messiah might come, they hoped in faith, that The Messiah would come. In the same way, we hope for the Messiah’s return. We hope for a home that is eternal. We put our hope, our faith, in the One who makes all things new.
Vs 4:10-15 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who live are always given over to death because of Jesus, so that Jesus’ life may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke we also believe, and therefore speak. We know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and present us with you. Indeed, everything is for your benefit, so that grace, extended through more and more people, may cause thanksgiving to increase to God’s glory.
I think it’s safe to say, we all want to experience joy and happiness. Nobody really wants to suffer. But, there are some things in life that have to be broken in order for the fragrance of God to be released. Last week we talked about treasure in a clay jar. Today, I want to talk about treasure in alabaster jars. Alabaster was a stone commonly found in Israel, and used to decorate the temple of Solomon. It was also used to hold expensive perfumes. The jar would be sealed with wax in order to preserve the scent, and, the only way to get the perfume out was to break the neck of the jar. We find an example of this in Mark 14:3 – “While He was in Bethany at the house of Simon who had a serious skin disease, as He was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of pure and expensive fragrant oil of nard. She broke the jar and poured it on His head.” In order for the fragrance to be released, it had to be broken. In the same way, for an athlete to win their competition, there is a lot of pain involved along the way. The seed has to die in the ground before the plant springs to life. And, Christ’s death had to happen before there was a resurrection. If the death of Christ is not revealed in our own bodies, we will never experience the resurrection and eternal life. The Greek word for revealed is phaneroó, which means to make visible, or to make clear. Our life should be a clear presentation of Christ both in His life and death.
The Corinthian church had forgotten this lesson. They were under the false impression that suffering meant someone was weak or that God’s favor was no longer on that person’s life. This is the reason they were speaking against Paul – as we know, he suffered greatly throughout his ministry. In this text, Paul is reminding the church at Corinth that suffering was a necessary part of the Christian life. In fact, it was through his own suffering that Paul brought life to them as a believing church. In his brokenness, the fragrance of Christ spilled out so everyone could experience God.
Vs 16-18 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Nothing we see from day to day is eternal. It is temporary. Death is all around us. The grass, trees, flowers, they all wither and die at some point. Even our bodies are temporary vessels. We will all die at some point. But, we don’t focus on what we see around us. Instead our focus is on what we do not see – the eternal. We know, by faith, there is eternal life waiting for us. Our outer shell may fade away, but our inner person continues to grow and renew as we draw closer to God. He is our source of renewal. We may deal with struggles in this life, but it will only serve to create in us a stronger spirit. Paul referred to these struggles as a “momentary light affliction”. The Greek words for light affliction are elaphron and thlipseos. It literally means an easy to bear tribulation. If we recall from last week’s study, diamonds are made through great pressure. The pressure is both momentary and “light” enough not to crush the stone. When it is done, the diamond will not only be the hardest gem on earth, but it will reflect the light in a spectacular way. In the same way, the pressure and struggles we experience are essential for our growth. Through these momentary easy to bear tribulations, we gain strength for the journey so we can better reflect the glory of our Father in heaven. We do not focus on the temporary things in this life that we see, but walk toward and focus on the unseen glory of eternal life with God.
Vs 5:1-5 For we know that if our temporary, earthly dwelling is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands. Indeed, we groan in this body, desiring to put on our dwelling from heaven, since, when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life. And the One who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.
If our focus is on our the unseen glory of eternal life with God, it means we must make the most of our time here. We can walk through life knowing we will inherit a better dwelling. I love the phrase “so that mortality may be swallowed up by life.” Paul did not fear death, because he knew in his death, his life would begin. He was able to throw caution to the wind and speak without fear about Christ, because he knew eternal life was waiting for him. He lived life to it’s fullest, spoke with passion and walked with purpose. It didn’t matter what happened to his temporary building, an eternal dwelling was waiting for him. We don’t have to fear this life. We can live life to the fullest and speak with passion and walk with purpose. Several years ago, a pastor by the name of Rick Warren wrote a wonderful Bible study entitled The Purpose Driven Life. In the book, he outlines five purposes for this life. They are as follows: Purpose #1: You Were Planned for God’s Pleasure – so this is why we worship; Purpose #2: You Were Formed for God’s Family – this why we come together in fellowship as the body of Christ; Purpose #3: You Were Created to Become Like Christ – this is why we continue to study and grow as believers; Purpose #4: You Were Shaped for Serving God – this is why we minister to others; Purpose #5: You Were Made for a Mission – this is why we share our faith. In each purpose, God is our focus. Everything around us can be destroyed, but if we have a building from God – it will stand.
Vs 6-15 So, we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight, and we are confident and satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord. Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the tribunal of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless. Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we seek to persuade people. We are completely open before God, and I hope we are completely open to your consciences as well. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in the outward appearance rather than in the heart. For if we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we have a sound mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.
This is the very reason Jesus could walk this earth, speak so strongly and walk to the cross with confidence. He knew He was living in a temporary vessel. He knew clearly the will of God and He surrendered to it. The surrender meant pain beyond our imagination, but He endured the cross for us. He died so we could live, not for our own selfish ends, but live for God knowing we will spend eternity in communion with Him. He was not at home in His temporary body – He focused on the eternal. He made it His aim to be pleasing to God. The Greek word for aim is philotimoumetha which means to be zealous for. Christ was zealous for God’s will. It was his focus and aim. And just like Christ, we don’t have to let what is happening around us shape our faith. In the end, it doesn’t matter who is in office, or on an earthly throne. The political environment of Jesus’ time did not shape His message. In fact, He never even spoke of it. It doesn’t matter what laws are in place that may be barriers to our faith. Peter, John, Paul and the other believers continued to walk in faith despite the laws that were in place meant to curb their faith. It doesn’t matter what others are saying or doing around us that make it difficult to live out our faith. Jesus definitely had words with the Pharisees and others. He never let what they said detour him from doing God’s will. The only thing that matters is for us to focus on the hope we have in Christ. We focus on the unseen, rather than what is seen. All these temporary barriers, struggles and pressures will only lead to refining us so we can reflect the glory of God. Paul reminds us that “while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.” Instead, focus on what is eternal and “make it your aim to be pleasing to Him.”
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