Justified Fools For Christ-5 Series

“Endure”—anecomai—1) To hold up; 2) To hold one's self erect & firm; 3) To sustain, to bear, to endure. Strong—To hold oneself up against, i.e. figuratively--Put up with.

From—ana—properly--Up; but (by extension) used distributively--Severally, or locally--At(etc.)—&—ecw—To hold(used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remote; such as possessions; ability, continuity, relation, or condition).

2Cor. 6:3-11—“We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand & on the left, by honor & dishonor, by evil report & good report; as deceivers, & yet true; as unknown, & yet well known; as dying, & behold we live; as chastened, & yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, & yet possessing all things. O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open.”

2Cor. 11:22-27—“Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ?--I speak as a fool--I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night & a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness & toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger & thirst, in fastings often, in cold & nakedness--”

:13—“being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.”

The apostles attempt reconciliation/beseech when others slander them.

The apostles are as “filth”/scum of the world(undesirable stuff—that which is removed upon rinsing; filth).

The apostles are as the “offscouring”/dregs(that are removed upon scouring/a deep seated stain).

—Think of washing dishes—you ‘rinse’ the plate of any obvious & easily removable surface material left from the meal(sauce, juice, gravy, strings of string beans, bones, fat, etc.). Then the dish is thoroughly scrubbed(either by hand or dishwasher) using dish detergent & a scouring pad to remove the unseen nastiness(saliva, germs, etc.).

The “world” allocates the same place, to the blood-bought Christian/believer, as the stuff which we trap in our kitchen drains after a meal. The “world” allocates the same place to Christians as pestilent remains which are painstakingly & laboriously removed.