Bart Byl on Ecclesiastes 1:1-3, 2:4-11, 17-23.

“What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?”, laments the Teacher in Ecclesiastes laments. Death is coming, and it will wipe away any impact our work has. Work after the Fall, East of Eden, is afflicted with pain, sweat, and frustration. But Christ has come, the last Adam, to remove the curse, conquer death, and fill our work with hope. If we offer up our toil to him — however mundane — he will include it in the kingdom that lasts forever.

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Bart Byl on 2 Corinthians 13:14

Series: Power in Weakness (2 Corinthians)

A very brief meditation on enjoying “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.”

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Bart Byl on Ephesians 5:1-10.

True imitation of God arises out of the assurance that we are his dearly loved children. Because we possess the new status, new nature, and new Spirit of adoption, we can walk in the new way of life. Since God is light and God is love, we his children begin to bear that family resemblance.

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Bart Byl on 2 Peter 1:1-4.

We already possess all we need for a life that pleases God. Every treasure of the gospel, including the power for a transformed life, is stored up in Christ. When we first put our faith in Christ, we possess him entirely, because we are united to him as one person. 

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Bart Byl on 2 Corinthians 13:14.

Series: Power in Weakness (2 Corinthians)

Trying to living the Christian life without the assurance of God's love is a pretty grim business. That's why Satan relentlessly tries to undermine our confidence in God's love for us. "Keep yourselves in the love of God," the Book of Jude instructs us. Imagine if we made sure to begin every day by consciously resting in our Father’s love!

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Bart Byl on 2 Corinthians 13:14.

Series: Power in Weakness (2 Corinthians)

Paul concludes his letter by pronouncing a Trinitarian blessing on the church in Corinth. The first word of blessing is “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” — because the free favour of God in Christ is what meets us at the very beginning of the Christian life.

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Bart Byl on 2 Corinthians 13:11.

Series: Power in Weakness (2 Corinthians)

Restoration, encouragement, unity, and peace are all God's gifts. But we can't receive those without effort, without striving, without faith-filled, Spirit-empowered determination to build each other up in Christ.

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Bart Byl on 2 Corinthians 12:1-10.

Series: Power in Weakness (2 Corinthians)

Paul had been granted a mystical journey to heaven, but he wasn’t even allowed to talk about. The real revelation the Corinthians needed to hear about was Christ’s response to Paul’s prayer for the thorn in the flesh to be removed: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” We assume our inadequacies repel God, but they actually create space for him to inhabit our lives.

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Bart Byl on 2 Corinthians 11:16-33.

Series: Power in Weakness (2 Corinthians)

A disturbingly high percentage of pastors are clinical narcissists. But why do churches enable leaders who abuse us? Perhaps its because we too are worshipping the god of worldly power instead of following Jesus in the way of the cross.

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Bart Byl on 2 Corinthians 11:1-15.

Series: Power in Weakness (2 Corinthians)

The ‘super-apostles’ showed up in Corinth and offered a different Jesus, a different Spirit, and a different gospel—all design to serve cultural idols. Paul appeals to the Corinthians—and to us—to stay close to Christ, and not be lured from his side to be destroyed.

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