More No Fear
Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matt. 10:28
No fear again! "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul." Taken in the context in Matthew 10, those who can "kill the body" are those persecutors who will eventually put several of the disciples to death (see verses 17-23). Those oppressors may be able to put people to death, but they are unable to destroy the person eternally. Following death and sleep in the grave (Dan. 12:2) there comes a resurrection (see 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
It is that hope of resurrection that made the cowardly disciples fearless. After they met the resurrected Christ who claimed to have the keys to death and the grave (Rev. 1:18) and realized that because He had risen, they would also, they were absolutely unafraid.
Their gospel became that Jesus not only died, but that He resurrected on the third day (1 Cor. 15:1-4). His resurrection served as a guarantee of their own at the end of time (verses 51-53). The resurrected Christ became the theme of apostolic preaching (Acts 2:24; 3:15; 5:30). That hope made the apostles "fearless." They had "no fear" because their enemies could kill their bodies but could not destroy them as individuals. Thus they had "no fear" because of the resurrection hope.
On the other hand, there is someone whom we should fear. That is "him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell"--God Himself. Here we need to take a look at the word "soul." The Bible does not hold to the Greek belief that individuals consist of a material body and an immortal soul. To the contrary, immortality is a characteristic of God Himself (1 Tim. 6:16) that will not be bestowed on Christ's followers until the resurrection at the Second Advent (1 Cor. 15:51-53).
The soul, meanwhile, is merely the whole person. Thus we find in Genesis 2:7 that "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground [the material aspect], and breathed into his nostrils the breath [or spirit] of life; and man became a living soul." The Revised Standard Version and most other versions translate the Hebrew word for "soul" as "a living being." The soul is nothing less and nothing more than a living being or person. And it is only God who can eradicate a person eternally, a task called the "second death," the punishment of the wicked in the lake of fire that totally destroys them at the end of the millennium.
Because they serve God, Christians can have "no fear," even in the midst of trouble.
Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matt. 10:28
No fear again! "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul." Taken in the context in Matthew 10, those who can "kill the body" are those persecutors who will eventually put several of the disciples to death (see verses 17-23). Those oppressors may be able to put people to death, but they are unable to destroy the person eternally. Following death and sleep in the grave (Dan. 12:2) there comes a resurrection (see 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
It is that hope of resurrection that made the cowardly disciples fearless. After they met the resurrected Christ who claimed to have the keys to death and the grave (Rev. 1:18) and realized that because He had risen, they would also, they were absolutely unafraid.
Their gospel became that Jesus not only died, but that He resurrected on the third day (1 Cor. 15:1-4). His resurrection served as a guarantee of their own at the end of time (verses 51-53). The resurrected Christ became the theme of apostolic preaching (Acts 2:24; 3:15; 5:30). That hope made the apostles "fearless." They had "no fear" because their enemies could kill their bodies but could not destroy them as individuals. Thus they had "no fear" because of the resurrection hope.
On the other hand, there is someone whom we should fear. That is "him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell"--God Himself. Here we need to take a look at the word "soul." The Bible does not hold to the Greek belief that individuals consist of a material body and an immortal soul. To the contrary, immortality is a characteristic of God Himself (1 Tim. 6:16) that will not be bestowed on Christ's followers until the resurrection at the Second Advent (1 Cor. 15:51-53).
The soul, meanwhile, is merely the whole person. Thus we find in Genesis 2:7 that "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground [the material aspect], and breathed into his nostrils the breath [or spirit] of life; and man became a living soul." The Revised Standard Version and most other versions translate the Hebrew word for "soul" as "a living being." The soul is nothing less and nothing more than a living being or person. And it is only God who can eradicate a person eternally, a task called the "second death," the punishment of the wicked in the lake of fire that totally destroys them at the end of the millennium.
Because they serve God, Christians can have "no fear," even in the midst of trouble.
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