Paul McKenzie

Memory Verse, Tuesday, December 30, 2 Corinthians 5 15

"And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died, and was raised."

His death has given us peace, for we no longer live for ourselves. The self-rule was never supposed to be. We were always to be dependent upon the God of Heaven, completely assured that His judgments are true.

And when we are born again, we have no doubt about that fact, for He guides us through right judgments and helps us mature. We no longer need to stress about decisions, for we know that "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)

Romans 6 brings this passage across in great detail. "We were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his." (4-5)

And because of being united with him, we have been given the strength to live in this newness. "We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin." (6-7)

He not only died for our sake, but was raised as well so we could not only be forgiven, but be partakers of the heavenly calling. To be part of the family of God! We will never die in the full sense of the word. If He tarries, the mortal will perish, but we will immediately be with the Lord, and receive a immortal body.

"Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." (8-11)

Christ, God the Son, "who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father." (Philippians 2:6-11)

And because of this, we no longer need to live for ourselves. The aimless running in a world lost in the darkness of sin is gone. "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us a live together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:4-9)

Which brings us right back where we started in Ephesians 2:10. The freedom of being back with the Master, who created us for His glory and our everlasting good! And we can rest peacefully with that truth that is planted deep within us by the Holy Spirit who dwells within everyone who turns to Christ as their Savior and Lord.

Today if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.

(and by the way, those who have been praying for me about my procedure yesterday, the doctor found nothing in my bladder, so I'm still cancer free, praise the Lord! We'll check again in six months.)

Memory Helps:

"And HE died for ALL that those WHO live
might NO longer LIVE for them SELVES,
but FOR him who FOR their sake DI-ED,
and W-AS RAI--SED."

Linking "he died for all" with "has died for all" in v 14.

Then: "those who live" with "no longer live"
Then: "For him who" with "For their sake"
Then: "Died and was Raised"

Musically, I used "My Bonnie" again, but raised the key for this verse for variation. It worked well for me. I have more details added to my website if you're interested.

To link the numbers, my "memory character" for 15, who is my friend "DaLe", cuts in on the song between the 2 Corinthian pillars with his two rather large "5-fingered" hands with something written on each hand. One hand says "Died" and the other says "live", which he switches back and forth as he sings. In line three, I put his "five" fingers into "four" on the "Died" hand to show "FOR him who FOR their sake." At the end, he "raises" both hands. That works enough for me to keep focused on 2 Corinthians 5:15.