Friday, 5 June 2015
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God. 2 Corinthians 1:21
Paul ties these words in with the “Amen” of the previous verse. There he said –
“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”
In Christ is the Amen, the establishment of who we are in God because in Him is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. When we unite with Him, we participate in those things, thus we are established. Expanding on that, he says “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ…” In other words, our position is externally granted and fixed. It is not something that we have done, but something that has been done for us. This “us” is probably referring to Paul and those whom he was with because he says “us with you.”
Paul and those with him, along with the Corinthians (and any who have received Christ) have been established in Christ. Further, He “has anointed us.” The word for “anointed” is chrio. It is used only five times in the New Testament. All other four instances are referring to Jesus – Luke 4:18, Acts 4:27, Acts 10:38, Hebrews 1:9. Jesus is the “Anointed,” which is the meaning of Christ. And in Him we have received an anointing from God.
In the Greek of this verse, there is a change in the tense of the verbs. The word “establishes” is a present participle, but the “anoints” is an aorist. We are continually being established and upheld in Christ, but we are, at whatever moment we received Christ “anointed.” Therefore, it should read “anointed” rather than “has anointed.” It may seem trivial, but Paul’s words were written 2000 years ago and yet they still apply today, 2000 years later. When a person calls on Christ, they are anointed in Christ. From that moment on they are established and continue to be established. “Now He who is continually establishing us with you in Christ and, who anointed us, is God.” 2 Corinthians 1:21 (CGV – Charlie Garrett Version)
Life application: God has done everything necessary for us in Christ. He has done the work through Him, He has anointed us in Him, and He continues to establish us in Him. It is by grace we are saved, through faith, and that not of ourselves. Rather, it is the gift of God. Let us not boast, but instead proclaim the greatness of God in Christ.
Heavenly Father, grant us the ability to endure the heartaches of this life. They come at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected ways. And some are utterly debilitating, robbing us of our sleep, our ability to concentrate, and even to taste the food that we must force down. We are limited in our understanding of why things happen and we cannot see the end which You can. In these times of distress, help us to have the confident trust that You have it all under control. Grant us Your peace through the overwhelming storms of life. Amen.