Let’s read 2nd Corinthians 4:10-11, “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” The apostle Paul had just been speaking in verses 8-9 of the sufferings he was experiencing from a world that hated Christ. In verses 10-11 he goes a step further and states that he was constantly being exposed to death by martyrdom. Yet God allowed this in order for the life of Jesus to be manifested through him.

What exactly did Paul mean when he said that he was “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus?” I believe it means that Paul never forgot how his Savior was always facing death from His enemies and that ultimately His enemies had Him crucified. The apostle Peter tells us in 1st Peter 4:1, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind.” Christ is the believer’s example; He was willing to suffer death at the hands of wicked and cruel men and we too should be willing to lay down our life and seal our testimony in blood if called upon to do so. The real secret here is to have our minds and hearts focused on Christ. As our Savior made His way to the cross, He was scorned, ridiculed, mocked and eventually beaten to a pulp and crucified. God allowed wicked men to “deliver Him unto death” and now Paul writes, “we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake.” Paul accepted the fact that the same wicked men that hated and crucified Christ would hate him and desire to have him killed.

But Paul went on in both of these verses to speak of the precious testimony we can bear before the world if we are willing to die for Jesus’ sake. He said in verse 10, “that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body,” and he emphasizes it again in verse 11, “that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” He had spoken earlier in verse 6 of how God shined the light of the gospel into our hearts “for the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” God has revealed His Son to us so that we might reveal Christ to others! Think of it, dear fellow-believer, the moment God saved us He could have taken us home to heaven immediately, but He has left us here to be a witness for the Lord Jesus to a lost and dying world. He wants us to PREACH CHRIST to others, but He also wants us to LIVE CHRIST before others. When we were born again, the very life of Christ was given to us and now we have the privilege to manifest “the life of Jesus” to those around us. And perhaps the greatest opportunity to show the life of Jesus to others is when we are being persecuted and facing possible death at their hands. Think of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. How did he react to those who were stoning him to death? We read in Acts 7:60 that “he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” Instead of cursing them he asked God to forgive them! This surely reminds us of the prayer of the Lord on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Stephen emulated his Savior and in doing so, “the life of Jesus” was being manifested in his mortal body. Paul faced that same possibility and we know that eventually he was martyred for his faith in Christ. But until he breathed his last breath, he was focused on Christ’s willingness to suffer death and this gave him the power to manifest “the life of Jesus.”  (200.1)  (DO)