1 Peter 1:1-5 Grace and Peace!

1 Peter 1:1-5  Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.  This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 

In this letter Peter addresses the Christians who have come to Jesus Christ in Asia Minor.  Of course, many are strangers to him, but they are in the body of Christ, facing persecution and trouble for their faith.  They are those who have been chosen to be obedient to Jesus Christ, for they have been sprinkled with his blood, the cleansing blood that ransomed their souls from eternal death.  Peter tells them that even though they face danger from this world, they are shielded eternally by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  Peter knew the Christians throughout Asia Minor experienced difficulty in living their daily lives.  They faced even the possibility of dying for Christ.  He writes this letter to strengthen their faith, to remind them of what Christ did for them at the cross, and that they need to keep in mind at all times the eternal plan of God, the plan to have them exist with him forever as his children in his household.  Peter comforts the people with God’s provision for them: In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.  However, the hope of eternal life in God’s presence must have been difficult for them when their everyday lives experienced isolation and rejection from their relatives, friends, and community.  The label of Christian brought trouble to their lives, for it was considered anathema by the communities and cultures where they lived.  Surely, some of these believers often were tempted to recant their experience with Christ, to say that their excursion into Christianity was only a temporary journey of instability.  With this constant threat on their eternal lives, Peter wrote to bolster their faith, making sure they understood the efficacy of the cross and God’s faithfulness.  Peter reenforces the idea that Christ’s death and his resurrection has shielded all who place their faith in Jesus’ eternal being.  By holding fast to their faith in Jesus Christ and his work, they can endure successfully the trials of this world.  Persecution and even the threat of death cannot take this new life IN CHRIST from their existence.  A little later in this letter, Peter writes, Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  (1 Peter 4:12)   Peter desired them to know that nothing this world can do to them, could destroy God’s magnificent plan for them, accomplished in heaven already, of making them children in the eternal family of God.  The cross and the resurrection have made them eternal beings, and because of this reality they can and will endure any persecution that is thrown against them.  In this world, nothing can take away the new life in them. 

The Good News has never changed throughout the centuries since Christ’s death.  Peter’s encouragement to the believers in Asia Minor remains a need in every church: hold fast to the work of the cross, continue your lives in faith, believing every word that comes from the mouth of God.  Unless we believe the word of God over what we see, hear, and experience, we will be weakened in our faith, confused by the world around us.  The believers in Peter’s time were under pressure to give up on Christianity.  In some parts of our world today, many are under the same pressure.  Even their livelihood is threatened by others who demand they give up their belief in Christ.  In the developed parts of the world, persecution is not usually a threat to Christians’ viability; instead, it is the materialism of the world, the desire to win this world for personal benefit, that most threatens the work of Christ.  This python of lukewarmness is a danger to the redeeming message of Jesus Christ.  It squeezes out the fact that everyone who desires a successful life must give his or her life to Christ, that we must die to the things of this world to live in the next world with God.  The Bible is very explicit in this area.  Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.  For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.  (1 John 2:15-17)  We are forever tempted by our senses to live for this world, for our senses tell us that they govern what is life and what isn’t life; nothing else matters but what we perceive with our senses.  If that is the case, why should we forsake our indulgences for something we cannot see or know by our daily experiences and perceptions.  But Peter is reminding them in this letter that life is more than what you are experiencing even if you are under the threat of death.  Eternal life is the precious gift God has given to all those who believe in the work of the cross.  Nothing should supersede or overwhelm this fact: not difficulties, persecution, death or even lukewarmness.  All should succumb to the Good News that eternal life with God has been brought to mankind.  Jesus said, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  (Matthew 16:24)

For the persecuted people of Peter’s time and for the believers of this age, we should keep in mind that before we came to Christ we were dead in our trespasses and sins.  As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  (Ephesians 2:1-7)  Before Christ redeemed us through our faith in him, we were all away from God, separated from his presence.  Our hearts were cold to God, so cold that we were without life, for God is life.  We walked according to the world, following the prince of the power of the air.  This spirit of darkness is evident in all people who are disobedient to God.  As people who are dead to God, we fellowshipped gladly with other sinful people who also lived without God.  As people of our own will, we completely satisfied the sinful pleasures of our minds and flesh.  Because of that godless lifestyle, we were targets of God’s righteous wrath.  Nonetheless, God in his wonderful nature of grace and mercy, rescued us through Christ’s work on the cross.  His death was for all of us, so that we might not die under God’s wrath, his hatred of sin.  Consequently, God quickened us in Christ—He brought us out of the grave with Christ into a new life.  Even as Jesus came out of the grave, we came out because of our faith in his resurrecting work.  God’s mercy, his grace, saved us from eternal damnation.  Peter wanted believers of his time to remember and to hold fast to that wonderful reality.  We, in our day, also need to remember the glorious redemptive plan of God.  If we do so, no trouble, adversity, persecution, or threat of death can keep us from knowing God and his love.  This knowledge should energize our souls to work for him, to live for him, even causing us to put down our tendency for lukewarmness and pick up the passion for Christ and his work.  We will say with our brother, Paul, For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:38-39)  God bless you as you walk in your inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.  

Romans 16:17-27 Inexpressible Joy!

Romans 16:17-27  I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.  Keep away from them.  For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.  By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.  Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.  The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.  Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.  I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.  Gains, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.  Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.  Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith—to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ!  Amen! 

Jesus warned the disciples about false prophets coming either to scatter or destroy the flock of believers.  Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  (Matthew 7:15)  Paul warns the elders at Ephesus of the coming of the wolves after he leaves them.  I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  So be on your guard!  Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.  (Acts 20:31)  Peter was even more direct, explicit in his description of the false prophets.  But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories.  Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.  (2 Peter 1-3)  The energizing force behind every cult is the basic nature of man, his desire to be central in God’s plan of redemption.  Many cults or aberrations of the gospel hang onto the necessity of doing something to make a person acceptable to God.  For the wolves, salvation, rightness with God, must originate in man’s efforts, his works, not in God’s works.  The false prophet will say if man does not save himself through his own deeds, he is lost from God’s acceptance.  In the eyes of the wolves, man must prove his dedication to God by doing something worthwhile or make himself holy, honorable, righteous, God-like in nature.  Of course, this harkens back to the Garden when man attempted to improve God’s plan by eating of the Tree of Knowledge.  Man in that futile attempt to govern God and his creation brought on himself destruction, shame, and death.  From that time on mankind has been in a struggle with death itself, his dread of his finiteness walks with him daily.  Waywardness in the Christian faith does not usually start with a great bang, or with an entirely new revelation outside of the scriptures.  Normally, this kind of distortion of the truth starts with skewing the scriptures, placing an emphasis on a few scriptures and ignoring the whole context of the Bible.  By focusing on a few scriptures, placing them above all over scriptures, a division begins in a community of believers, creating a small tear in the fabric of the gospel.  This tear grows until it separates some believers from the others, and a cult is born.  No wonder Paul urged his brothers and sisters to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in their way that stray from the sound teaching they have learned.  The people who started this rift in the church will claim that those who serve God in faith, trusting in his grace and mercy of God, need more to fulfill their understanding of God.  The separatists have found a new secret, a more sure way of knowing God.  By removing themselves from the household of believers into a new community, they will know all the mysteries of God.  Paul is extremely sensitive to this kind of contrary division.  His whole message to the Romans centers on faith in God’s work and not man’s work.  He begins this book with the statement: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,  just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”  (Romans 1:16-17)

Paul’s statement describing God’s righteousness is complete and correct: a righteousness that is by faith from first to last.  Otherwise, acceptance from God is assured, for we have a holy righteousness that comes from the hand of God through the works of Jesus Christ.  This is the whole story of the New Testament, from first to last.  The work has been completed; there are no other cards to lay on the table; we have the winning hand because of Jesus Christ’s work.  At his death on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished!”  (John 19:30)  The battle was over, Christ had won.  He had paid the price for sin and death.  This kind of talk is anathema to the cultish people.  They want an extra card thrown on the table to acquire the winning hand.  Of course, this card is their card, their input into winning God’s acceptance.  For two thousand years, individuals and groups have come to the table of life with a card in their hands with the inscription written on it: my works.  How satisfying for the carnal person to say I need to put “my works” on the table.  We deny the scriptures when we hold that idea in our hearts, that we could possibly add to God’s eternal plan.  For God gave his only Son that whosoever believes in him will have new life.  He, the Creator, creates new life.  He alone can place the DNA of God into our hearts.  This cannot be done by our own works.  Our DNA has been corrupted by sin.  Look at the history of mankind, look at the violence and corruption that has existed in every race, every ethnic group, in every place man has occupied.  Look at the rapes, pillaging, killing that every group of people has done.  This is mankind’s basic DNA, our innate nature.  The people who are participating in this breakfast today, have this damaged DNA code within them.  Their ancestors, their lineage have done these horrific acts of sin.  We cannot escape this truth.  When we try to sculpture a new man out of our own efforts, we are using crass material, material that will never stick together in righteousness.  Our sculpture will always crumble to the ground under pressure, for we are flawed.  The resultant acts of the flesh are sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  (Galatians 5:19-21)  Of course these acts lead to killing, rape, and pillaging; wars and holocausts of every kind.  Without God’s creation of righteousness within us, we are lost in our old nature; good for nothing but destruction.

But praise God, good news has come to the world: But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  (Luke 2:10-12)  The cults and aberrant messages will always follow behind the church of God, much like the prostitutes that follow the armies of the world. They will attempt to pick off a few, causing the deceived to go off in a wrong direction.  But the message of God is strong: He has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  (Hebrews 13:5)  If we stay firm in the faith, knowing that God is the Creator of all things and keeps his word, we will always be safe in the household of God.  The righteous will live by faith.  We, who are around this breakfast table will live by faith.  We will believe as Abraham believed: he believed in the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.  (Romans 4:17)  Otherwise, he believed in the resurrection and that God can make something out of nothing as the Creator of all things.  We who are alive IN CHRIST are new creatures.  He made something out of nothing, that which was destined for destruction.  We are NEW CREATURES, POSSESSED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT BECAUSE OUR TEMPLE IS CLEAN, PURIFIED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.  Paul wrote, For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:10)  Also, praise God, WE WILL BE RESURRECTED TO BE WITH GOD FOREVER.  This sums up Abraham’s faith—our faith.  All else, additions or subtractions from this faith, is cultish.  We will be forever with God because of God’s work in us.  We place our trust in God’s words, in his faithfulness, in his everlasting love.  As eternally damaged goods outside of God’s mercy and grace, we have been made new, forever pleasing to God.  We have been made acceptable by the work of the cross.  We died with him when Jesus went to the grave; we arose with him as He came out of the grave victorious.  As He is the first of many in the resurrection of the biological flesh, we follow him in our own resurrection to the household of God.  This is known as THE WAY in the New Testament or the GOOD NEWS.  Let us rejoice with the angel, good news has come to the earth that will cause great joy to the world.  God has come to abide with us for eternity.  We who are alive IN CHRIST have this hope for we have been empowered with the power of God for our resurrection: the Holy Spirit.  For all that Christ has done, we can say with Peter: Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.  (1 Peter 1:8-9)  Amen!       

Romans 16:1-16 Shine Like Stars!

Romans 16:1-16  I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae.  I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.  Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus.  They risked their lives for me.  Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.  Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.  Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.  Greet Andronicus and Junia my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me.  They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.  Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.  Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.  Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.  Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.  Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.  Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.  Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.  Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.  Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.  Greet Asyncritus, Phlegm  Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.  Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympus and all the Lord’s people who are with them.  Greet one another with a holy kiss. 

We see Paul at the ending of his letter to the Romans speaking about people he knows who should be praised and lifted up in this world.  These are individuals who should be recognized for the good things they have done for Paul and others.  Some have risked their lives for Paul and the church.  Some have been faithful ministers and servants to the body of Christ.  All of them served others for the purposes of Christ’s mission on Earth.  They were concerned about others, so their lives were disciplined to help others, to strengthen the faith of the others, to forward  the message of the Good News.  They helped Paul deliver this message of the victorious Messiah and his resurrection to the whole world.  Some of them were Jews, who helped the despised Gentiles know Christ.  Others were Gentiles, supporting Paul, who began his life as a Pharisee of Pharisees, one who never would have associated with the barbarians of the world.  They now loved Paul, the Jew, just as Paul loved them.  In Paul’s commendations at the end of Romans, we see the answer to the world’s self-centeredness, cliques, and divisions. We see Paul going out of his way to express his love for those who have helped him in his ministry, Jew, Gentile, women, and men.  All were treated in the same way in his expression of goodwill towards them: the same love, affection, and dedication.  None were considered less than the other persons in his concern and wishes for them.  Even when he comes to the end of his salutation, when linking several names together, along with all the Lord’s people who are with them, he does not imply that these people are less in importance than the ones he mentioned at the beginning of his greeting.  All people are equal in deserving Paul’s recognition and love: all are significant to Paul as all are important in the body of Christ.  Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.  (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)  For the sake of the church, the people he mentions have placed themselves in servitude of Jesus Christ.  He is first in their lives, even to the point of giving their biological lives up for the purposes of the church, for the expansion of the gospel.  Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  (Romans 1:1-2)
When we read Paul’s list, we might ask ourselves, how many of us in today’s church would give up our physical bodies for the sake of the cross?  How many of us would be commended by Paul if he saw our lives?  These are good questions to explore.  Would Paul see the same fervent dedication in us as he saw in the body of Christ two thousand years ago?  Or have we been conformed to the pattern of this world so much that there is little difference in how we live our lives compared to the world’s lifestyle?  Have we been co-opted by this world?  Do we see anything in Christ for which to lose our lives?  Undoubtedly, many of us would say that we would readily give our lives for Christ if He desired such an action.  But we can test the truth of this by asking if we are already living lives given over completely to Christ.  Is our commitment 100 percent or have we been immersed into the culture of this world to such a degree that we rationalize our worldly activities and thoughts as acceptable?  Our son, Jeff, wrote a song that asked, What would you die for?  What would you die for in your life?  Of course, we who are serving this breakfast wrestle with the same questions we present to you, dear breakfast companions.  Would Paul commend all of us for our service?  Are we hospitable, generous, kind, thoughtful, loving, caring, forgiving, and the like?  Or are we self-serving, demanding our own way, placing everyone’s needs behind ours?  Daily, how many prayers do we send up to the Lord, how many songs about God’s love escape our lips, how many acts of kindness do we perform, how many smiles and gentle words do people receive from us?  In other words, where are our lives centered: in Christ or in ourselves?  Christians need to monitor their lives continuously.  Are they more secular in orientation or more Christ-like?  Why should we honestly keep track of our motives, thoughts, and actions?  Are we not under the grace and the mercy of God?  Yes, we are!  But we also need to be good servants in the household of God.  We are sitting with him in the high places of servanthood, places where we are to institute God’s will, not ours—that is our prayer.  Our relationship with him should be so precious, so intimate, that we desire to do his will, for He is GOOD TO US.  He is not an ogre, ready to destroy or hurt us.  No, He is a tender, loving Father to his children.  But because of God’s nature of goodness, we should seek to do good to the world.  Is this day going to be lived for him or for ourselves?  Will the people we meet today know that there is something different about us or will they see us as just another human being walking the trail of life?  Will they know we are in Christ?  They should know that we have said with Paul, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20)  Christians should live differently, act and express themselves differently.  Our lives should be lived in a prosperous, joyful way for God has prospered us with his Holy Spirit.  Consequently, we should activate the Spirit of God in our lives.  When in the midst of the people of the land we should be as Paul wrote: Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.  (Philippians 2:14-16) 

How easy it is for any of us to point out what we should be like as Christians, but how hard it is for us to pick up the mantle of Christ.  He gave his life; we also should be ready to give our lives for God.  This idea of sacrificing our lives for God is easily understood, but hard to implement, for we are finite, caught in a biological existence.  Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.  (Matthew 10:37-39)  Today in some of our biggest churches, we hear the premise that we should be all that we can be in this world.  We should win the world for ourselves and of course in doing so manifest Christ and his goodness to the world.  Perhaps all of this can be good in the right context, but God called us to live not for this life but for the next life.  Is our primary desire to be the slave of everyone or is our number one goal to be the CEO of a large company, dictating what is right for everyone?  The latter sounds so good, and we tell ourselves, I will be a CEO who is a slave to everyone by being kind, generous, and understanding.  Then as a reward for my good life, I will live in the biggest house or houses, I will have the most material goods, I will receive honors from others, I will live with wonderful security and healthcare, I will have the best car or cars, and so on.  Sounds as if this kind of slavery is best for us.  This idea of being the master-slave is so much better than being the slave-slave.  The former has power, the latter has none.  As humans, even in the body of Christ, we would probably vote for the master/slave route—the benefit package is great.  Ministers have found it easy to gather a lot of people under the banner of being everything you want to be in this world, but it is hard to find a group of people who say, not my will, but yours be done: “I will lose my life for you.”  All eternal life begins with repentance, repenting of your old ways of thinking and acting.  Christ did not make you a new creature so that you can elevate yourself in this world.  You are a new person, born again, so that you can have an intimate relationship with God and DO HIS WILL.  Does this mean that none of us should be important or influential in this world?  No, of course not.  God, for his purposes will raise those He desires to places of imminency, but for most of the church, we will be much as when we were called.  Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.  Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.  It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”  (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)  We will boast only in the Lord.  Our mission is to do his will.  Will the world know or will others even in the church know how important we are to God and to the body of Christ?  Probably not.  But God knows, and as Paul commended the many who blessed his life, God will commend us and honor us with his name, as his children forever.  Amen!