Unlimited: What Christ Has Accomplished
Nov 28, 2023 387
I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done (Romans 15:18.)
Paul refuses to speak of his accomplishments. He will only speak of what Christ has accomplished through what he has said and done for the Gospel. There is a vital difference here. To the church in Corinth, Paul wrote:
For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Cor. 9:16.)
This laser-like focus on exalting Christ at the expense of self is the common experience of all who truly know him. John the Baptist said of Christ:
A person can receive only what is given them from heaven…. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less (John 3:27,29.)
Paul sees himself and his life in its proper relationship to Christ and what Christ has accomplished.
That is what the response of our hearts to knowing Jesus is like. We realise that everything we are and everything we have is a gift from him. Our joy is complete in him, so that we can say, as John himself continued,
He must become greater; I must become less (John 3:30.)
This doesn’t mean that Paul considers himself to be nothing; rather he considers himself to be everything in Christ. He sees himself and his life in its proper relationship to Christ and what Christ has accomplished.
Spiritual Application
Those who have the mindset of the world like to boast of their own achievements accomplished with as little help as possible from others. How independent are you really?
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