Tom Wacaster
The title of this article is lifted from 2 Corinthians 3:11: “For if that which passeth away was with glory, much more that which remaineth is in glory.” In the context Paul is contrasting the passing nature of the Law of Moses with the permanency of the Covenant of Christ. The Law of Moses was never intended to be a permanent system for men to approach God. From the very moment of its inception, the Law of Moses with its animal sacrifices, rituals, and rites, began a hasty journey toward being abolished (Heb. 8:13). The blood of bulls and goats could not remove the sin of God’s people (Heb. 10:4). It could only remind them of their sin (Heb. 10:3). A law written on stone could only condemn, for once a person broke the law he stood as a law-breaker (Jas. 2:10). But a law written on human hearts could (and would) produce a renewing of the mind and transformation of character (Rom. 12:1-2). It was important that the Corinthians be reminded that the “letter” (that which was received and revealed through Moses) was inferior to the “spirit” (that which was given by Jesus and revealed by the Holy Spirit).
Like so many other words and phrases throughout God’s word, these inspired words of Paul find application in so many ways. I am not suggesting that what follows was the intent or subject matter in 1 Corinthians 3. What I am suggesting is that the words “pass away” and “remain” run like a fine thread throughout the New Testament. Think of a few of these.
That which is physical passeth away, but that which is spiritual remaineth. Paul will address this theme in 2 Corinthians 4:16 – 5:1. Let us lift a few short words out of that passage: “the things which are seen are temporal; but the things that are not seen are eternal” (4:18b). The sad truth is that most men live their lives thinking that the things that are seen are eternal. The atheist, for example, rejects the existence of an eternal Creator, accepting instead the foolish alternative that matter is eternal. The materialistically minded man may admit to the existence of God, and even attempt to serve Him while clinging to the material things that surround him. He has not learned the lesson that “no man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24). Men often forget that “things” are transient. They are fleeting at best. “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings, Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven” (Pro. 23:5). In 1927 there was a meeting at the famous Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. Ten of the most successful men in the world were there. Twenty-eight years later their lives were in shambles. Charles Swab, present of the largest steel company in the world, died bankrupt and lived on borrowed money the last few years of the his life. Nicholas Parnissai, head of the National City Bank, died an insane man. Samuel Insull, president of the largest utility company, died a fugitive from justice in a foreign country. Howard Hobson, president of the largest gas company, was incarcerated in a mental institution that last few years of his life. Arthur Cutten, greatest wheat speculator in the nation, died abroad, in poverty. Richard Whitney, president of the New York Stock Exchange, spent most of his declining years in Sing Sing prison. Albert Fall, member of the President’s Cabinet, was pardoned from prison so he could die at home. Jesse Livermore, the biggest “bear” on Wall Street, died of suicide. Leon Fraser, president of the Bank of International Settlements, also died from suicide. You see, all of these men came to realize that material things are fleeting. The crash on Wall Street and the Great Depression robbed them of those things they held so dear to their hearts. Oh yes, material things pass away.
Second, the world passeth away, but the Word of God will endure. Jesus stated it this way: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35). There are two things that beg consideration. The first of these is the affirmation that the world WILL pass away. This truth should cause all of us to take pause in our busy walk through this life. So, why should this not surprise us? After all, the end of all things is spoken of in God’s word. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10). The cessation of this world will usher in the Judgment Day (2 Cor. 5:10) when all men shall give an account of how they have used the “three score and ten days” allotted (some more, some less). Justice demands just such a day, for without a Judgment Day, there IS no justice! When this world is consumed in a conflagration of fire all men will then realize the second part of our Lord’s statement, namely, “my words shall not pass away.” Truth will always be truth, by the very nature of truth itself. One poet put it this way:
Truth never dies.
The ages come and go.
The mountain wear away, the stars retire.
Destruction lays earth’s mighty cities low;
And empires, states, and dynasties expire;
But caught and handed onward by the wise,
Truth never dies.
Though unreceived and scoffed at through the years;
Though made the butt of ridicule and jest;
Though held aloft for mockery and jeers,
Insulted by the insolence of lies,
Truth never dies.
It answers not. It does not take offense,
But with a mighty silence bides its time;
As some great cliff that braves the elements
And lifts through all the storms its head sublime,
And never dies.
As rests the Sphinx amid Egyptian sands;
As looms on high the snowy peak and crest;
As firm and patient as Gibraltar stands,
So truth, unwearied, waits the era blessed
When men shall turn to it with great surprise.
Truth never dies.
Third, physical life passeth away, but our soul shall live forever. “And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). Death! The unfortunate reality is that no man who has ever lived, or who shall ever live, can escape their appointment with death. The rich, the powerful, the mighty, the poor and the pauper alike will eventually die. Many years ago while doing local work in Ada, Oklahoma, I had occasion to conduct an unusually large number of funerals. As was often the case I would, upon arrival at the cemetery, walk past numerous grave stones on my way to the grave where I would meet with the family and speak a few words of comfort before the body was laid to rest. I was intrigued by the epitaphs engraved on the tombstones. On one occasion I came across a tombstone of someone who had died in the early part of the last century. It was an elaborate tombstone, no doubt costing more than the typical marker that graced so many of the graves in the cemetery. It was large, ornate, and to be frank, quite lovely. I asked the funeral director as he passed me, “I wonder who this might have been.” He informed me that the man who had been laid to rest at that spot was a wealthy, well known banker in Ada, Oklahoma. Then he added this comment: “Few people even remember him anymore!” That was 45 years ago. Now let us flip the proverbial coin over on the other side. “We shall live forever.” Tom Warren’s book, Immortality, has as its subtitle a most sobering statement: “All of us will be somewhere forever.” The doctrine of annihilation of the soul is the devil’s lie designed to remove the fear of entering eternity unprepared to meet our Maker. From the time of Cain until the present, men have asked, “If a man die, shall he live again?” It has been generally conceded that men have reached the apex of human wisdom in teachings of Socrates. Yet when this man of supposed unlimited intellect lay dying on his bed, his disciples asked him, “Master, shall we live again?” It is a sad fact that this wisest of all men could only say, “I hope so, but no man can know!” In his book, Immortality, Tom Warren focused on the sobering answer to this question of man’s existence following death:
What if it is the case that God does exist and that every human being who has lived or will live on earth, either has survived or will survive physical death? What if it is the case that there will never be an end to any human being who has ever lived or who will ever live on the earth? If such is the case, then the question as to what state a person will be in, during that eternity, is as important as any question possibly could be (viii).
Job’s question has been answered in Jesus Christ. His apostles, the New Testament prophets, and every preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ have heralded the message, “But now is Christ risen from the dead!” What a difference the hope of our resurrection has made. Martyrs, dying the most excruciating forms of death, made the earth ring with the hope that their lives were not lived in vain. It was this assurance that shook the Roman Empire to its core until the empire itself crumbled and Christianity became the official religion of the known world.
There are things that will pass away. There are things that will remain. We have only touched the hem of the garment. But when all these things are considered, it produces within a sense of hope that only Christ and the gospel can bring. Tommy Moore wrote of our amazing hope. With this we will close our study of this marvelous chapter in 2 Corinthians:
Hope
Hope shines brightest when the hour is darkest.
Hope motivates when discouragement comes.
Hope energizes when the body is tired. |
Hope sweetens while bitterness bites.
Hope sings when all melodies are gone.
Hope listens for answers when no one is talking.
Hope climbs over obstacles when no one is helping.
Hope endures hardship when no on is caring.
Hope smiles confidently when no one is laughing.
Hope reaches for answers when no one is asking.
Hope presses toward victory when no one is encouraging.
Hope dares to give when no one is sharing.