Pray! : Memorize the Bible - 2 Corinthians 5:15

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Memorize the Bible - 2 Corinthians 5:15

2 Corinthians 5:15And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

This is another verse which I love and which I have trouble remembering. I frequently use it in conjunction with Hebrews 9:15, which I just remembered without having to look up. And lets see if I also remember the text.

For this cause He is the mediator of a new testament, that through death for the redemption of the offenses committed in the first testament, they who are called may obtain the promise of eternal inheritance.

Woo hoo! Awesome! Let's compare to the actual text:

Hebrews 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Yeah! I knew I was close. And since I use that verse often, I get to practice it often.

Now, since I wrote the original article about Hebrews 9:15, I added a fourth word picture.

Here's the original:

But now I see Jesus standing in front of him but

a. with a Bible in one hand, i.e. mediator of a new testament;

b. and a crucifix in the other and facing the Grim Reaper, i.e. by means of death;

c. and a multitude of our Jewish Patriarchs entering heaven, i.e. for the redemption of the transgression that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

So, to repeat. I visualize a Jewish man brewing "battle" and picture Jesus with a cross and a bible doing battle with the Grim Reaper while a multitude of the Patriarchs or Fathers, whose sins have been redeemed enter the heavenly kingdom in fulfillment of the promises of the first or old testament.

And from memory, Hebrews "battle", "btl" or Heb 9:15

He is a mediator of a new testament in order that by means of death He should obtain the redemption of the sins committed against the first testament and they which are called receive the promised eternal salvation.

Now I've added d.
d. I see the multitude of Jewish Patriarchs entering heaven and becoming little children who are taken up into the arms of the Father. This helps me to remember that the final words are "eternal inheritance" since they become sons of the Father.

So, now, by memory,
1. "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13)."
2. "For this cause he became the mediator of a new testament that by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions in the first testament they might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Anyway, back to 2 Cor 5:15. The reason I love it is because it tells me that Jesus redeemed all people's sins. Everyone without exception. But the Jews who lived in the first or old testament, had died and were already in heaven. 2 Cor 5:15 is about those who live. That means Mary and the Apostles and all whom they converted and those who were converted later on. We have all been redeemed but we must now forget our own lives and live not for ourselves but for Christ who died for us. This is how we apply the grace of His death to our lives. By keeping the Commandments and submitting to the Sacraments. Therefore Scripture also says:

Philippians 2:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

(I can see that there is another "filly piano" coming in the future.)

And Scripture further says:

Hebrews 5:9
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

(and another "he brews").

There are, in fact, a ton of verses relating to that which we must DO in order to be saved.

And so, in my mind, 2 Cor 5:15 is essential to a complete understanding of Hebrews 9:15.

So, let's begin remembering this verse:

2 Cor 5:15
And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

I've intentionally shortened it from Corinthians to Cor because in Latin, "Cor" means "heart". So, my word picture will be Two hearts.

Because of my Spanish background, Cor is easy to picture as a heart. But those of you who don't relate to Spanish or Latin might want another word picture, perhaps "Corn in tins". Picture two cobs of corn in tin cans.

For me Cor is Corinthians, so I don't need the tins. But you might also picture two hearts in tin cans. Anyway, whatever works for you.

Again, if we go to the alpha numeric table which we've been using, 5 is "L" (I'm using a capital L because it is hard for my poor eyes to distinguish between I and l.) And 1 is "t" or "d".

For me then, the image of the Immaculate heart and the Sacred heart side by side will be the vision for 2 Cor. And the word, "Ladle" (i.e. a large spoon).

So the word picture is "Two hearts and a ladle".

Now for the words:

And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

For the picture then, I see Jesus with His Sacred heart visible upon the Cross, Mary with the Immaculate heart visible beneath the Cross. And a multitude of Apostles and disciples and myself with them, all of us carrying our own cross to the grave, where Jesus rises and stands before us.

So, let's break it down:
1. He died for all - Jesus on the Cross with His Sacred heart visible.
2. All of us, including Mary with her Immaculate heart visible, the holy women and the Apostles surrounding the Cross and worshipping - that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves.
3. All of us carrying our cross to the Grave - but unto him which died for them.
4. And Jesus rises from the Grave - and rose again.

So, now from memory,

The picture "The two hearts of Jesus and Mary and a ladle" means 2 Cor 5:15 and for the text I picture Jesus on the Cross, with His Sacred heart visible and Mary beneath also with her Immaculate heart visible and a multitude of holy men and women, including myself, worshipping. Then all of us carrying our cross to His grave where He rises again.

And the text from memory: