Paul was intrepid despite the vulnerability of his mortal body because of the reality that a body belonged to him in the heavens. He in no way tried to shy away from death since death ushers the believer into an existence that transcends this life in every possible way and to a degree beyond our ability to comprehend. Moreover, death for the believer is not the great discontinuity or disruption that some try to make it out to be. Paul says it is like putting on another coat. It is not a taking away, a disrupting, but rather, a putting on over, an adding to. No matter what Paul's enemies did, he couldn't lose and when our hearts are focused upon the Kingdom and we are living our lives for God's glory we can't lose either. When we live like this and our lives are not taken, then we continue to have breath and thus are able to continue doing what fills us with passion, namely, doing the Lord's will and glorifying His name. On the other hand, if our enemies kill us, we know that we will arrive at our ultimate destination, somewhere we long to be--present with the Lord. So when Paul's enemies said they were going to kill him, he said he longed for that day and when they failed to kill him he rejoiced because it enabled him to continue with the work that God wanted him to do in his mortal body. This understanding was the basis of Paul's bravery.
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Derek Carlsen is a native Zimbabwean and was a resident in that country until he was called to be the pastor of the Church of Christian Liberty from April 2003 to September 2005. Following this, he became founding pastor of Covenant Reformed Church of Elk Grove in Elk Grove...
