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THE DIVINE PARADOXES
The heart is deceitful above all things. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9
The sin of our fallen nature is a profound mystery. We read about the mystery
of sin as well as the mystery of salvation in Jesus; and both have depths,
lengths, and breadths beyond human understanding. One way to explain this is
to identify
the divine paradoxes that each Christian faces as we mature in
the Lord:
The wiser we become,
the more we realize our foolishness;
Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise by
the standards of the world, he should become a fool in their eyes, so that he
may find true wisdom. 1 Corinthians 3:18
The stronger we grow in Christ,
the weaker we feel;
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power
is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my
weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. That is why, for the
sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in
persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians
12:9-10
The more we possess spiritually,
the less we seem to have;
Poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing
everything. 2 Corinthians 6:10
The more of a sinner we are,
the more fully we are forgiven;
Two men were debtors to a certain moneylender. One owed him five
hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay him, he
forgave both of them. Which one, then, will love him more? Luke 7:41-42
And when we are most like little
children, we are
the greatest in the kingdom of heaven;
“Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like
little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore,
whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven." Matthew 18:3-4
By J.C. Philpot











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