King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday, December 06, 2025
Chapters: II Corinthians 5-8
Message: II Corinthians: Accepted of God
Hello My Friend,
As we continue in the reading of II Corinthians we learn that while salvation is granted by the grace of God to all who believe in and receive Christ as their Saviour, their works after they are saved proves their faith, [2 Corinthians 5:6-9 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.]
We are all going to face Jesus the second that we take our last breath here on earth, and while our salvation has nothing to do with any work we have done, it is the product of our faith. Even before Christ came here in the flesh, working or being obedient to God always proved their faith. Now, granted, many people get saved upon their deathbed, but remember what Jesus said, [John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.]
Our salvation by grace through our faith in Christ means that we are already accepted by God. I am with Paul on this, I would do anything if it were possible to be here without carrying around this wretched body and still be in the presence of Jesus. You know, the day is going to come when every saved, born again Christian will receive a new body, one that will never have to see sin, sickness, pain or even death ever again, [Revelation 21:3-4 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.]
This is why we labor or rather, serve God wherever He leads us faithfully after we are saved. It is not about keeping our salvation and everything about proving not only to God, but the world that we are fully trusting in that promise. Paul explains that our body is just a tent that we carry around.
[2 Corinthians 5:1-5 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.]
Paul sounds a little bit like Solomon who described God after the first temple had been built, [1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?]
I do not know why, but for some reason I believe that God timed everything just right when He brought my mother home so that I would be reading this book at this time. The clothes that Paul is referring to is the robe of righteousness, glory, and salvation that Jesus puts upon us the second that we receive Him as our Saviour. These robes remind us that our identity is not in our own works but in Christ’s finished work, and point toward the ultimate hope of eternal life. These robes are what will allow us to stand before God and live, [Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.]
Those who would be found naked are the ones who never accepted Christ as their Saviour yet thought that their religion or own righteousness would save them. Saved or not, we will all stand before Jesus and give an account for the life we lived, [2 Corinthians 5:10-12 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. 12 For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.]
This is not the great white throne judgment that the unsaved will stand before Jesus, this is the righteous judgment in which we will receive our crowns. The Bible tells us that we will receive up to seven crowns. The Crown of Life, of Righteousness, of Glory, of Rejoicing, of Splendor, of Authority, and the Incorruptible Crown. Together, these crowns remind us that the Christian life is not lived in vain. Every trial endured, every act of obedience, every soul reached, and every faithful service is seen by God and will be honored in eternity. The crowns are not for our glory alone, they will actually be cast before Christ’s feet, [Revelation 4:10-11 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.]
Every saved, born again Christian regardless of whether or not they lived several years serving Christ or had no opportunity other than to getting saved will receive the crown of life. That means we will all receive eternal life, [Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:]
This is why we know that unless we believed in vain, our salvation can never be taken away even if we do not anything more than receive Him as our Saviour. The comforts that we get to embrace through our suffering while we are here in the flesh gives us the hope of the end of all suffering when we are in the presence of Jesus. Since we walk by faith and not sight it would be wise to let that faith shine by living our lives though Him.
[2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.]
Once we receive Christ as our Saviour and start walking by faith and not by sight, we see that things that were once acceptable to us are not anymore. It is as though we are not the same person we once were having become a new person. This has nothing to do with what we read through God’s Word, this becomes from the conscience as the Holy Spirit leads us, [Romans 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.]
Learning what is right and wrong in God’s eyes comes as we read and study His Word more steadily and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us discernment and repentance. However, the Holy Spirit will teach us things well before we dive into His Word and start living through it. Paul, goes on to give us examples of what happens when we give ourselves over to the Spirit and if we do not then perhaps we need to have a heart to heart with our faith.
[2 Corinthians 6:1-4 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) 3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: 4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,]
You see, whether or not we are saved by receiving Christ today or in the days of old when their righteousness through their faith in God’s promises counted for their salvation, no one is saved without having faith in God. In fact, it is ones faith in God that brings them to become obedient to Him. You do not need a Bible to have faith in God or Christ for that matter, believers of old did not even have any Scripture at all until God instructed Moses to write Genesis through Deuteronomy. The Scriptures are what give us a clearer understanding of God and what He expects of us so that when we say we believe in Him He says prove it by being obedient to His Word, []
Do you realize the lengths that believers went through so that we have the Bible today? Many of them were martyred. Paul, goes on to describe what Christians face through their faith, [2 Corinthians 6:5-10 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; 6 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, 7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; 9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; 10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.]
[Unfeigned; not counterfeit; not hypocritical; real; sincere; genuine.] If we have truly accepted Christ as our Saviour, then we will want to live our lives through Him unfeigned. While we may mess up a thousand times a day, it is the effort that counts with God. However, those who are saved and not living their lives through Him will face a lot of sorrow on this earth until they get to heaven. This right here is the closest thing to hell that we are going to face, [Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.]
Is one so arrogant to think that God is going to allow us to live a life of sin after we are saved and go to heaven? Of course, we would suffer until we repent or He takes us home because we made a mess of things. We need to understand that we even as faithful Christians, we are not perfect, the just fall and get back up time and time again. That is what grace is for, but we must never receive the grace of God in vain. Everything we do after we are saved does have an impact on our lives because it actually has an even bigger impact on the lives of others. This is why even the people we get around makes a huge difference. In fact, once we get saved we are to separate ourselves from those who are not and even those who a not living by the right example.
[2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.]
Think about it, we become who we get around. I will be honest and say that I have said for years that my faith was too strong for me to get caught up in sin. God, proved me wrong when I allowed myself to be around a man who appeared Godly but caused a great deal of suffering. Thank God that He is merciful and got me out of that mess. We cannot blame God for bad things that happens to us, sometimes we bring it upon ourselves, but they are not always due to some sin. Since we cannot avoid all suffering, we can endure it and find purpose by giving thanks to Jesus for what He has done for us as we live the rest of our lives through Him.
[2 Corinthians 7:1-3,8-9 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man. 3 I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you. 8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. 9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.]
Do you see what working for God is all about? It is not to keep our salvation, nor punish us for every wrong that we do. And it is not tell us that we need to just sit there and take every bad thing that happens to us without complaint. It is to keep us in the grace of God, knowing that no matter what we face, we will face it with Christ. Paul, goes on to explain.
[2 Corinthians 7:10-12 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. 12 Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.]
When we think of all the things we have done over the years and how God still accepts us and does not forsake us, we can truly understand that it is only by His grace that we are saved. However, it does give us a chance to be a testimony of how Christ changed our lives through grace, and if He has not, then we have much bigger problems. Paul, goes on to describe hoe grace is what sustained the churches in Macedonia.
[2 Corinthians 8:1-5,9 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; 2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. 3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; 4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. 9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.]
The more we learn about and get closer to Jesus, the Holy Spirit inside of us convicts us to the point that we no longer what to seek the riches of the world. In fact, we become more motivated to give rather than receive, [2 Corinthians 8:12-15 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. 13 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: 14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: 15 As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.]
We cannot walk by faith out of obligation, or out of force. We cannot walk by faith when everything is going well or when we have no need for anything. We need to be walking by faith at all times. Remember, God knows the heart, everything that we do we must do it willingly if we want to see the blessings that come from being faithful to Him. What salvation really means is that every ridiculous or stupid thing you ever did before you knew Christ has been wiped clean from your slate, [Psalms 1:1-3,6 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for not only giving your life to save me from the judgment I faced for my sins, but also nailing those sins to the cross, burying them in the tomb, and removing them completely through my faith in You alone. I am saved by grace, and know there is nothing else I need to do or maintain to keep my salvation. Nevertheless, I do not want to just get by in this life just clothed in Your righteousness, I want to live life abundantly as I walk by faith and not by sight. Lord, Lead me and guide me, fill me with Your love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and strength as You lead me. Let me not attempt to walk in my own righteousness, rather Yours, allowing You to perfect me as I give You my all. Remove from me all doubts and fears for I will not walk by sight in what is going rather my faith in You. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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