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Kingdom and Cross

4:1 And I responded, "Lord, we can obey you if you wish, for we have forsaken our fathers and our mothers and our villages and have followed you. 2 Give us the means, [then], not to be tempted by the evil devil." 3 The Lord replied, "If you do the Father's will, what credit is that to you---unless he gives you, as part of his gift, your being tempted by Satan? 4 But if you are oppressed by Satan, and are persecuted, and you do his will, I [say] that he will love you, and will make you equal with me, and will regard [you] as having become [beloved] through his providence according to your own choice. 5 So won't you cease being lovers of the flesh and afraid of suffering? 6 Or don't you realize that you have not yet been abused and have not yet been accused unjustly, nor have you yet been locked up in prison, nor have you yet been condemned unlawfully, nor have you yet been crucified <without> reason, nor have you yet been buried in the sand, as I myself was, by the evil one? 7 Do you dare to spare the flesh, you for whom the spirit acts as an encircling wall? 8 If you think about the world, about how long it existed <before> you and how long it will exist after you, you will discover that your life is but a single day, and your sufferings but a single hour. 9 Accordingly, since what is good will not enter this world, 10 you should scorn death and be concerned about life. 11 Remember my cross and my death, and you will live!"
5:1 And I answered him, "Lord, don't proclaim the cross and death to us, for they are far from you." 2 The Lord replied, "I swear to you, none will be saved unless they believe in my cross; [for] God's domain belongs to those who have believed in my cross. 3 Become seekers of death, therefore, like the dead who are seeking life, for what they seek is manifest to them. So what can be of concern to them? 4 When you inquire into the subject of death, it will teach you about election. 5 I swear to you, none will be saved who are afraid of death; for <God's> domain belongs to those who are dead. [Complete Gospels]

 

Notes

RCL:
ECUSA: & RC:

John Dominic Crossan