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Crown of Incorruption

"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

Having just shared a little bit about the difference between incorruptibility and immortality, let me just say here that incorruptibility is a reward for self-denial. Paul's favorite illustrations for this are from foot-races and gladiatorial contests, as those are tests of great strength and prowess, and are even things for which men "striveth for the mastery of."

The phrase "striveth for the mastery of" is actually translated from one Greek word from which we get our word "agony." It speaks of competing in a contest; but it also suggests the idea of competing with such effort that every muscle and every nerve is strained to the breaking point. It is not a matter of just a little game that someone wants to play for a little while and then is over, but rather, it is about "a game" in which even the very life of the contestant can be lost except by victory in the game. Think on that.

Beloved, the "incorruptible crown" is given to those who walk in the spirit and therefore no longer give into the lusts of the flesh. We must strive for such mastery in our walk today, and that not by trying real hard to overcome the flesh but by learning obedience through the things that we suffer (allow). Even Jesus learned obedience, beloved, not by trying to avoid trials, tribulation, and temptations, but by suffering (allowing) them, and by walking with the Father on through them ... unto full and complete victory.