1. II Cor. 5: 11, 13-18, 21

11. This process of the manifestation of the true self as it appears in the eyes of God continues apace, but it is not understood by men, so we have to be gentle and persuasive with them; yet I believe that in your mind I am known for what I am in the truth.

13. For my spiritual self which is not in the body exists for God, whilst in my human relations with you I claim nothing, I make no pretentions — as do some who find material for self-congratulation in the outward man. But that is not so with me; for I can no longer look on man from that standpoint.

14. I behold the love of the Christ, I see in his one death the death of all of us already accomplished after the manner of his death —

15. the death that is to say of all that separates us from God, the death of that personal physical ego, and the release in consequence of that infinite and unselfish life which is the love of the Christ, and the life of the Christ, who died and who rose afterwards that it might be available for all.

16. I no longer then, regard man as physical, but spiritual. The physical is no longer set before my eyes.

17. Christ himself to me is no more a physical being; I see him spiritually, and in that spiritual vision I learn that man is a new creation. All former views of man now perish. He is a new being, all is new and wonderful. This is the work of God to-day, my brethren.

18. For by this death of the physical in us we are being reconciled to God; all things are being reconciled to Him who is Spirit, through the disappearance of their mortal aspect.

21. For this is the reconciliation — that even the sinful part of man was the error and wrong which have no part in the true man, even that sinful and erroneous side of life was corrected by the eternal Christ, who himself knew no sin, and yet presented in his own person an image of the victory over sin and the death of sin, as though he had been sin himself.

2. II Cor. 6:1-5, 7

1. This reconciliation and salvation is not for some hypothetical future. To think that is so is to take it in vain.

2. It is for now, it is here. “In an acceptable time have I heard thee, in a day of salvation have I helped thee” (Is. xlix. 8). What is that “acceptable time,” that “day” but the day which has now dawned on us?

3. and if we are its servants and ministers, we must show it in our lives.

4. If we are the servants of God, we shall abound in all good at all times, so that that service shall commend itself inevitably to all men. No amount of endurance, troubles, difficulties and dangers,

5. yes, not even punishment, imprisonment, scourging, and riots of the people, no labour, no hunger,

6 no watching shall weary us, but through it all we shall exhibit the signs of the Christ, that wondrous knowledge and holiness, patience and goodness, that love unfeigned which marks the presence of the Spirit.

7. and of this word of truth with man, and the power of God which it manifests.

10 life will be ours and joy, and abundant riches overflowing to the rest of mankind, that neither death nor poverty nor sore chastening can hide; for in the Christ we possess all things, because in the world we own — nothing!

3. I Cor. 12: 31

31. Some gifts are greater than others, and it is right to wish for the greatest gifts of all, and in that respect, I will point out to you a way that is better than all others.

4. I Cor. 13: 1-11, 12, 13

1-11. And the way I will show you is the way of perfection. I may have knowledge, but it is still fragmentary, I read as it were on a mirror the reflections which I cannot yet quite make out. I prophesy partially, not fully and perfectly, and so is it with other gifts of the kind, tongues and healing and so on. These are, as it were, but the infancy of the Spirit, its first faint babblings and lispings, but love is full, complete, perfect. Here and now it is the all-inclusive, towards which all these other gifts point, and when love is fully come, there will be an end of these partial utterances of the Spirit. Therefore love is above all things necessary. What are all these other gifts without it? What is the speaking with tongues, the utterances of men or angels, without it? Merely a repetition of the old religions with the clashing of cymbals and beating of gongs. And what does it avail to prophesy, to have an intellect which can grapple with all mysteries and knowledge, and to have so powerful a faith as to be able to work miracles with it, if love is not the crown, the aim, the end of it all? It is all worthless. And to give away all your possessions without love, and to embrace martyrdom and the stake without love — how empty, how vain and worthless! For love includes all that is good — all patience, kindness, tolerance, forbearance, faith and hope; and love is antidote to all evil, all jealousy, and boasting, all ugliness, selfishness, ill-temper, evil thinking. Love can never take any pleasure in these things, the joy of love comes from truth. And so it shall come to pass that all other things will change, pass, and be no more, but love will remain. All that is partial, imperfect, incomplete must have an end, but love will never fail.

12. In that perfect day of love we shall see face to face, we shall know then as now we are known,

13. and though now we see faith, hope and love, these three, abiding with us, the greatest of them is love.