Post by Zac Loh on Sept 8, 2009 21:55:18 GMT -5
THE CRITICAL MASS
Last Sunday night, my wife Su-Leng and I spent some time reading the Bible together. We were at 2 Corinthians 10. And she asked me: “what does this verse mean?”
and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. (2 Corinthians 10:6)
I replied that I didn’t know. Truly, it didn’t make sense to me. “How do you punish disobedience when there isn’t any disobedience …because the obedience is already fulfilled?”
At first, it sounded like a sham. Why did Paul try to exhibit his boldness by a not-so-clever twist? What is there to punish …at a time when the people are already proven obedient …at a time when disobedience is known to be absent?
Then I realized something.
When obedience reaches a critical mass, meaning that the number of obedient believers reaches a certain number …THEN, any disobedience further than that, any disobedience on top of that, any disobedience that comes later …will be punished by God!
So, if all the Corinthian believers who read the words of Paul became obedient, a critical mass would have been reached; they would have arrived at a certain prime optimal spiritual state.
THEN, they are ready to call for God’s action should any disobedience occurs after that, by any of them, or by anyone who joined them later.
We see the similar pattern in the book of Acts. In Acts 5, God executed His judgment on Ananias and Sapphira. It happened at a stage when the mass of believers’ became obedient to God. Their obedience reached an optimal level.
That’s why we don’t see such a judgment from God until chapter 5. There was growth, and at a certain point, a critical mass was achieved.
What am I aiming at? What is my concluding point?
Jesus is coming again. And, this time, with judgment upon the whole earth. The first time, He came as a lamb …the second time, a lion. The first time, He came as a servant …the second time, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings!
But the obedience of the believers on planet earth has to reach an optimal level. And the number of true genuine believers of Jesus Christ has to reach a certain critical mass …BEFORE JESUS RETURNS!
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)
Maranatha.
Last Sunday night, my wife Su-Leng and I spent some time reading the Bible together. We were at 2 Corinthians 10. And she asked me: “what does this verse mean?”
and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. (2 Corinthians 10:6)
I replied that I didn’t know. Truly, it didn’t make sense to me. “How do you punish disobedience when there isn’t any disobedience …because the obedience is already fulfilled?”
At first, it sounded like a sham. Why did Paul try to exhibit his boldness by a not-so-clever twist? What is there to punish …at a time when the people are already proven obedient …at a time when disobedience is known to be absent?
Then I realized something.
When obedience reaches a critical mass, meaning that the number of obedient believers reaches a certain number …THEN, any disobedience further than that, any disobedience on top of that, any disobedience that comes later …will be punished by God!
So, if all the Corinthian believers who read the words of Paul became obedient, a critical mass would have been reached; they would have arrived at a certain prime optimal spiritual state.
THEN, they are ready to call for God’s action should any disobedience occurs after that, by any of them, or by anyone who joined them later.
We see the similar pattern in the book of Acts. In Acts 5, God executed His judgment on Ananias and Sapphira. It happened at a stage when the mass of believers’ became obedient to God. Their obedience reached an optimal level.
That’s why we don’t see such a judgment from God until chapter 5. There was growth, and at a certain point, a critical mass was achieved.
What am I aiming at? What is my concluding point?
Jesus is coming again. And, this time, with judgment upon the whole earth. The first time, He came as a lamb …the second time, a lion. The first time, He came as a servant …the second time, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings!
But the obedience of the believers on planet earth has to reach an optimal level. And the number of true genuine believers of Jesus Christ has to reach a certain critical mass …BEFORE JESUS RETURNS!
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)
Maranatha.