Verse 25
For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.
What emperor or general ever announced a proposition like that? These words forcibly imply, even demand, an understanding that Christ is God. Only God could make good on such a promise. Origen said:
If anyone, as being a lover of life, and thinking that the present life is good, tends carefully his own life with a view to living in the flesh, ... this man ... will lose it, placing it outside of the borders of blessedness.[9]
The total dedication of the total man to God's total purpose, though it might (and sometimes does) result in death, nevertheless leads to eternal life. This is not merely saving one's life but gaining eternal life at the same time.
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