2 Corinthians 1:21-22 - Cage-Stage Comfort

Your Father sovereignly has you in His grip, and nothing can pull you out.

Are you, or is somebody you know, a "Cage-stage Calvinist"?

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2 Corinthians 1:21–22 (NIV)

²¹ Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, ²² set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

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Canons of Dordt

Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election

Point 2 - Limited Atonement

Point 3 - Total Depravity

Point 4 - Irresistible Grace

Point 5 - Perseverance of the Saints

Article 6: God’s Saving Intervention

• For God,

  • who is rich in mercy,

  • according to his unchangeable purpose of election

• does not

  • take his Holy Spirit from his own completely,

  • even when they fall grievously.

• Neither does he let them

  • fall down so far that they forfeit

    • the grace of adoption

    • and the state of justification,

  • or commit the sin which leads to death

    • (the sin against the Holy Spirit),

    • and plunge themselves, entirely forsaken by him, into eternal ruin.

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Summary

Maybe you know a 'cage-stage Calvinist.' Maybe you are one! A 'cage-stage Calvinist' is a Christian who's recently come to understand these Doctrines of Grace we've been learning about this year, and seeing for the first time the power of God's sovereignty over all that exists - especially our salvation. The beauty, wonder, peace and mystery that these doctrines evoke cause such people to want to talk about nothing but God's sovereignty at every juncture, prompting their friends to want to keep them in a cage somewhere.

While God does have lots of other attributes we ought to dwell on and discuss, like His love, justice, mercy, and goodness, it's hard to overemphasize His sovereignty. Especially since the Bible emphasizes it so much, as we see once again in today's passage: it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.

Or, as many of the other translations put it, God sovereignly established you in Christ. Other synonyms for what God sovereignly has done for you would include words like confirmed, sustains, and strengthens. No matter what word gets used, it evokes a picture of God's total control over your salvation: He chose you, called you, purified you, and keeps you.

Or, as Paul puts it in our passage today, God in His sovereignty anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts. When you come to understand the the extent of God's sovereignty in your salvation, and just how utterly impossible it would be for you to save yourself, it's hard NOT to want to talk about it all the time!

  Dig Deeper  

Often times people don't like to talk about God's sovereignty because they don't really understand it. They might think it makes God seem arbitrary and capricious as He callously saves some and passes over others. Maybe it makes them feel like a helpless pawn, since it may seem to them that our choices and actions don't really matter in a world where God has predestined all that will take place.

It's not that these aren't valid concerns, and there will always be a massive element of mystery remaining no matter how long you study these doctrines. But the Bible does give many insights to these difficulties; enough so that they shouldn't keep you from truly enjoying the benefits that come from having a solid grip on these doctrines.

The Canons bring us to this short passage today, not because it was written by a bunch of cage-stage Calvinists, but so that you can bask in the most comforting aspect of God's sovereignty: that God will not let you fall down so far that you forfeit the grace of adoption and the state of justification, or commit the sin which leads to death. Your Father sovereignly has you in His grip, and nothing can pull you out.

That's what Paul announces to you today in this short snippet from his second letter to the Corinthians: that God has sovereignly done so many things - He makes you stand firm, anointed you, set His seal upon you, and put His Spirit in your heart as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

This is why our theme this year has been to learn all about how it is that God's grace is stronger than you are.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who sovereignly makes us stand firm;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will walk in step with the Spirit whom God has put in your heart as a deposit;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 14