2
CORINTHIANS – The Ministry
Introduction
and background
It’s
infirmities,
reproaches, necessities, persecutions and distresses for Christ’s sake (2Cor
12:10)
2nd
Corinthians is a description of the trials,
tests and tribulations that await for any man wanting to
enter
the ministry for the Lord as a Pastor, preacher, evangelist and
teacher. God
will put you through such trying circumstances such that you will be
able to
speak personally of his comfort and deliverance not
from your
head, but from your heart - from experience and not just out of
a book.
You will
know, that you know, that you know, that you know …
the
comfort
and consolation that only comes from the Lord.
This
comes from throwing yourself 100% in utter
dependence on God the Father in crippling circumstances. WHY? THAT
GOD MAY
GET ALL THE GLORY NO MATTER WHAT THE OUTCOME!!!
Forty
five
(45) words that Paul uses in 2nd Corinthians are “anguish,
perplexity, devour, smite, bondage, weak, despair,
forsaken,
faint, persecuted, sorry, grieved, down, perish, burden, cast down,
groaning,
poor, chastened, hunger, beaten, perils, pain, infirmity, stoned,
reproaches,
offended, weariness, mourning, trembling, fear, poverty, affliction,
despair,
necessities, imprisonments, distressed, destruction, tumults, killed,
tribulation, dying, suffering, terrified, death.”
Welcome
to
the Christian ministry! And furthermore, you will thank and praise the
Lord
from the bottom of your heart that he has seen fit to destroy any form
of self
support or confidence you may have in yourself, in order for him to get
all the
glory.
As
Paul
states “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for
thee: for my
strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore
will I
rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest
upon
me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in
necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when
I am
weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (King James Bible).
Indeed,
“…that
the
excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 (KJB)
WONDERFUL
SCRIPTURE VERSES TO PRAY FROM THE HEART
With the
following scripture verses and quotes, God
shows us how to pray.
He knows
what we need before we even ask.
But most
people just keep bashing on God’s door for health and wealth and
anything they
need, as though
God
is ignorant of their needs.
What he
wants to hear is our praise and thanks for all our situations and his
solutions, in his time, when and
where he
sees fit. But whatever the situations, God’s grace will be sufficient.
And
we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them
who are the called according to his purpose. Romans
8:28
Giving
thanks always for all things unto
God and
the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Ephesians 5:20
Be
careful
for nothing;
but in every
thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests
be
made known unto God. Philippians 4:6
Rejoice
evermore. Pray without ceasing.
In
every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
For
God hath
not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love,
and
of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
QUOTES
from
other Christians
“If
anyone
could tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and
perfection, he
must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God
for
everything that happens to you. For it is certain that whatever
seeming calamity
happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you
turn it
into a blessing.” – William Law, clergyman, 18th
century “I thank God for my handicaps, for through them I
have found
myself, my work and my God.” – Hellen Keller. (Blind from a medical
mishap when
very young, but able to write hundreds of hymns for the Lord)
“Blessed
is he that submits to the will of God; he can never be unhappy. Men
may deal
with him as they will … he is without care; he knows that ‘all
things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose.’” – Martin Luther Christian minister 19th
Century
And will
people be thankful? Probably not!
As
Paul says
And I will very gladly spend and be
spent for
you; though the more abundantly I love you,
the less I be loved. (2
Cor 12:15)
BACKGROUND
to 2nd Corinthians
In
1st
Corinthians, Paul says he is coming direct to Corinth via Macedonia (1Cor
16:5).
But God
changes his plans so he travels through
Troas to save others.
He writes 2nd
Corinthians about one year
after writing 1st Corinthians.
Have
you ever felt disappointed and hurt, and
jumped to the wrong conclusions, because a friend said they would visit
you …
and they didn’t turn up? Until you found out the reasons for their not
coming,
your mind was flooded with false accusations against that person?
Of
course, the end result was that this non-visit
was being used by God to once again expose your lack of trust
toward God
and once again being reminded that you haven’t believed Proverbs 3:5-7.
Trust
in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean
not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways
acknowledge him,
and he shall direct thy paths.
Be
not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and
depart from evil.
This
sums up Paul’s second letter to the church at
Corinth. With
fear and trembling, his
first letter had shocked them into action, with the man committing
incest
(having sex with his father’s wife) being quickly and severely dealt
with. They
were now looking forward to a visit from Paul as having followed his
instructions. But God had other plans.
Because
he
didn’t visit them right away, certain people and the Jews at Corinth
had false
accusations against Paul. They were charging him with the following: 1.
Guilty
of lightness and levity 2. Insincerity 3. Hypocrisy (saying one thing
and doing
another) 4. Cowardice at not showing up 5. Lying 6. No letters from
Jerusalem
commending him 7. Dishonesty 8. Sneaky 9. Self interest 10. Insanity by
calling
him a fool
Now
Paul couldn’t care less whether he defended himself
or not, but as the saying goes “To push back against lies, slander and
scorn is
often our duty, not because of injury to us, but other Christians of
lesser
faith, may be discouraged and affected.” Paul follows the scripture
which says
“Smite the scorner and the simple will beware.” (Proverbs 19:25)
Paul’s
apostleship, in their eyes, is under question, but as he points out in
the
first verse, his apostlehsip is by the will of God. His commission
comes
directly from the Lord, so in this second letter, he outlines his
responsibility to God and others in this regard. Paul writes without
fear and
favour to the Corinthian church, refuting their lies and false
accusations
against him. His duty is to the Lord first and foremost and then to
other
Christians.
HIS
SELF-DEFENCE RELIES ON TWO THINGS
First,
his badges of honour, his battle scars proving
his experience in serving the Lord, by reminding them of his
infirmities,
reproaches, necessities, persecutions and distresses. Second,
his
visions and revelations from the Lord.
It is
against this backdrop, we commence our study of Paul’s second
letter to the Corinthians at Corinth.
Different
churches required different encouragement and correction.
The
Philippians needed joy.
The
Colossians needed to rely on Jesus Christ himself and not
secret knowledge.
The
Thessalonians needed hope.
The
Romans
were given justification by faith alone without works. The
Corinthians
need a description of the difficulties of the ministry
PAUL’S TWO
PRESSING ISSUES
1.
The
restoring of the ‘incest’ man who has repented,
has suffered enough and needs to be brought back into the congregation
(chap 2,
7)
The
collection of money for the saints at Jerusalem (chaps 8-9)
OTHER MAIN
TOPICS ARE
1. Paul’s
many sufferings that he and his fellow workers had (1, 4, 6, 7, 11)
2. Paul’s
labours
and successes in preaching the gospel in various places (chap 2)
Paul
compares the liberty in Christ to the bondage
of Moses (chap 3)
4.
Paul’s
true home is in heaven. On earth he has a
ministry of reconciliation (chap 5)
Paul warns
them of mixing with unbelievers (chap 6)
A very
strong defence against false accusations and
lies (chap 10-12)
BRIEF
CHAPTER OVERVIEWS
Chap
1 Paul’s
authority established, but not for
dominating. As he has been comforted by the Lord, he is able to
comfort
others.
Chap
2 Paul’s
authority & correction come from love,
help and joy for them. Paul’s service out of love and joy for their
benefit
Chap
3 The
liberty that comes from being in Christ and
having his indwelling Spirit (the Holy Ghost). Are you
saved or still
under Moses? Liberty in Christ.
Chap 4 Our
behaviour is open to examination by the world. We are not crafty or
deceitful.
The body
perishes (a light affliction) but we look
for a far more exceeding glory. Don’t be
deceitful
and crafty.
Chap 5 The
Christians true home is with Christ in
heaven.
Ministry
of reconciling others to Christ.
Chap 6
Prove yourselves as true ministers of God. Be not
unequally yoked.
Ch
7 We
must have Godly, not worldly sorrow. We
must live holy lives in the fear of God.
Ch 8
Cheerful giving
Ch 9
Cheerful giving
Ch 10 Paul
strongly re-asserts his authority.
Ch
11 Watch out for false and deceitful workers.
Paul’s labours and sufferings Ch 12 Paul’s
visions and revelations
Ch 13
Examine yourselves – Are
you just fooling yourself. Are you just a pretend
Christian?
BASICALLY
-
THERE ARE THREE MAIN DIVISIONS
Chapters
1-7: Personal and encouraging advice
along with an ‘apology’ for their sakes
Chapters
8-9: The absolute importance of giving
to other Christians
Chapters
10-13: A commanding and robust self-defence against his critics
PAUL’S
SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER 1
What you
will learn:
In
spite of
Paul not going to Corinth when he said he would (read 1Corinthians 16:3), Paul reminds the Corinthian
church of
his authority and his decision not to go there. Paul says his ministry
is not
to dominate them but to help them and be a comfort to them.
6. Address
and greeting (verses 1-2)
7. Paul
thanks
God for the comfort sent to him by God for his afflictions. The
Corinthians
were also sympathetic to him (verses 3-11)
8. He has
earned a right to their sympathy by his sincerity (verses 12-14)
9. His change
of purpose regarding his visit to Corinth plus a brief
outline of the gospel (verses 15-21)
10.
Explanation
of his reasons (verses 22-24)
1.
Address
and greeting (verses 1-2)
To
get a
good understanding of the Bible, we need to understand the meanings
of the
words and terms and who are the people that are mentioned.
So in the
first two verses we will explain the following:
Who
is Paul?
What is an apostle? Who is Jesus Christ? What do we mean by God’s will?
Who is
Timothy? What is a brother? What is the church? Who is God? Where is
Corinth?
What is a saint? Where is Achaia? What is grace? What is peace from God
mean?
Who is God the Father? Who is the Lord Jesus Christ?
Who
is Paul?
Paul
was that young man, his name was Saul then,
who stood by and watched Stephen being stoned (John
7:58-59). He persecuted the Christian churches, killed Christians
and threw
people into prison. God miraculously confronted him on the way to
Damascus one
day and he became a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, thereby becoming
a
Christian himself. Paul has written 14 of the 27 books of the new
testament,
which are the doctrine (teaching) for all Christian churches today.
Paul has
his ministry to the uncircumcised (the Gentiles – these are all the
people of
the world that are not Jews) and Peter had his ministry to the
circumcised
(Jews) (Galatians 2:7)
What
is an
apostle? An
apostle is a messenger who
delivers messages. Sort of like a postman with a letter. The
word is
almost the same (a-postman-le). So God had special
men who
were his chosen apostles to help teach, preach and guide his church
here on
earth. Jesus Christ chose 12 of them (Matthew
10:2).
Now
there
are no apostles or prophets here on earth today (Ephesians 2:19-20). There is no more foundation to
be laid
and there is no prophecy (telling the future) to be had.
As
the
scriptures say, they were the foundation of the church (with Christ as
the
cornerstone. When a building is built, there is always one point on the
corner,
from which all measurements are taken).
So the
only titles for Christian men today are evangelists, preachers,
pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11).
Who is
Jesus Christ? Jesus
Christ
is God himself come down from heaven in the form of a man.
In heaven
he is called “the Word of God”.
In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. (Jesus is
God).
The same
was in the beginning with God.
All
things
were made by him;
and
without him was not any thing made that was made. (He
created and made everything)
And
the
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, John 1:1, 2, 3,14
(KJV) (He
came down from heaven
and lived here on earth)
The first
verse in the Bible also says that Jesus Christ made the
universe. In the beginning God crested the
heaven
and the earth (this is Jesus Christ) (Genesis
1:1)
Thomas
calls Jesus his God (John
20:28)
God the
Father calls Jesus Christ God (Hebrews
1:8)
What
do we
mean by God’s will? We
all have
a will. “I will do this!” or “I will do that!”. Now people you live
with
also have a will that may not agree with your will. They want to do
something
that you don’t. So God the Father is like this. Because he is all
powerful,
knows everything and can do anything, it’s always a good idea when we
pray to
God about things, that we be very humble and say to God “Now I have
asked you
for this and that, but only if it agrees with your will.” The Bible
says And
this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any
thing
according to his will, he heareth us: 1 John 5:14 (KJV). Often when
we
pray we
ask for things that would seem good to us, but God knows better, so he
doesn’t
give it to us. We bow to his superior knowledge. Paul says that he is
an
apostle because God willed it. He has a commission from God himself.
Who
is
Timothy? Timothy
was one of Paul’s
helpers. Paul led him to the Lord and he got saved (1 Timothy 1:2). Paul called him his son in the
faith.
What
is a
brother? You
may have an actual brother or
sister in your family here on earth. Now when we get saved we
are put
into God’s family. So we have spiritual brothers and sisters,
because we
have the same heavenly Father who lives in heaven.
What
is the
church? There
are churches and the
church. When you get saved you are spiritually put into (baptised)
Jesus
Christ by the Holy Ghost. This is not water baptism. Now all those
in Jesus
Christ are called the church. Where is Jesus Christ now? He
lives in
heaven and sits on the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews
1:3). Where is the church? It is in heaven. The church
therefore is invisible.
Now there are churches here on earth and these are the true Christians
who get together
for prayer, preaching, teaching and worship. The church building is
not the
church. The Christians who get together are the church. So when
Paul writes
to the church at Corinth, he is writing to those in Christ
wherever they
may be. These are called the churches in Corinth. Just like he writes
to the
churches in Galatia (Galatians
1:2). So for example, one Christian is a church. Two Christians are
a
church and so on. No buildings are needed.
Who
is God?
Who is God the Father? God
is a
Spirit and he lives in heaven (John
4:24). There are many things we do not know about God. As
God says For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways, saith
the LORD. Isaiah 55:8 (KJV). However, Jesus Christ is
God in the
flesh and the Holy Ghost is God as well. All we need to know
about God,
he has shown us in his scriptures. So we can know much about the
nature,
character and operations of God as revealed in his scriptures. As Jesus
is God
and the Holy Ghost is God, what we know about these two also is a
description
of God himself.
There is
only one God but he has three persons (Hebrews
1:3). A good way to imagine God is an apple.
There is
only one apple but it has three parts – the skin,
the flesh and the core. Is the skin the apple?
Yes.
Is the core the apple? Yes.
Is the flesh the apple?
God
is called the Godhead – God has three ‘heads’
if you like. There is God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God
the Holy
Ghost (Romans 1:20; Colossians 2:9).
Where
is
Corinth? Where is Achaia? Corinth
is a
main city in Greece. It is on the left side of the Aegean Sea.
Achaia is
the general region surrounding these cities.
What
is a
saint? A
saint is a person who is
saved – saved from the wrath of God. This is also called
having
salvation. When Adam sinned in the garden of Eden, that sin was
passed onto
everyone that has ever been born. We are born sinners and that
is why we
sin. Because God’s standard is perfection and sinlessness, he will not
let sin
or sinners into heaven. That is why God became a man, Jesus Christ, and
lived a
perfect life on our behalf. As in the old testament, when God saw sin,
he
called for blood of animals to be shed. This only gave them short term
and
temporary relief from the wrath of God.
Those
who
have Jesus Christ as their Saviour are called saints because they have
trusted
in the shed blood of Jesus. They now have permanent security and
protection
from the wrath of God.
(Hebrews 10:12,14)
What
is
grace? Grace
is a gift. It’s something
you can’t work for, you can’t earn it and you can’t buy it. When
God
sends himself, in the form of Jesus Christ, down to earth from heaven
to pay
the penalty for our sins, that is the best gift anyone can have. The
scriptures
say For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not
of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should
boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJB).
What
is
peace from God mean? People
misunderstand by thinking that God will bring peace on earth between
people and nations. No, this will not happen (Luke
12:51). It means we can only have peace with him to escape his
wrath (Luke
12:14). There will be no peace between men and nations, (in fact
it’s only
going to get worse) till the Prince of Peace returns to rule and reign
here on
earth at the end of the 7 year tribulation coming very shortly. Now
when Jesus
Christ returns to earth to rule and reign, then ther will be peace on
this
earth.
1:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of
God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at
Corinth, with
all the saints which are in all Achaia:
Right
from the start Paul
establishes his office of being an apostle and that it had come
by the
will of God. He says this that all may know, especially the
Jews
that were opposing him at Corinth.
He
calls Timothy ‘our’ brother to
let the Corinthians know that they were members of the household of
faith as
well. Achaia was a country that surrounded the city of Corinth in
Greece.
1:2 Grace
be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Grace is
something that God gives you which we don’t deserve.
For
example, God sends Jesus
Christ do die on the cross for us. This is grace.
Mercy is
being ‘let off’ and not getting the punishment you do deserve
for something you have done wrong.
Now we
have peace with God the Father because Jesus has taken the punishment
for our sins.
8.
Paul
thanks
God for the comfort sent to him by God for his afflictions. They were
also
sympathetic to him (verses 3-11)
1:3
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
When
you are
saved, God in the form of the Holy Ghost, comes to live in you. He is
called
the Comforter (John 14:26). This means that no matter what, you
know God
is comforting you when under persecution and distress. Sometimes you
may not
feel this, but you can trust the words of God that he will never leave
you nor
forsake you in times of trouble (Hebrews
13:5). Furthermore we are reminded that ‘all things work together
for good
for them that love God’ (Romans
8:28).
Now
the meaning of the word ‘mercy’ is covered
above. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. It’s like if you have
done wrong,
you deserve to be punished but you get let off. That’s mercy. So God is
merciful to us all the time isn’t he?
1:4
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that
we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort
wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
Sometimes
you might wonder why God lets you go through trouble and hard
times? The reason is that you will be a blessing to others by
comforting them
when they are tried and tested. So because of our afflictions, we can
be an
example to others. God gives us comfort that we might comfort others.
Now
when we
see a word with “-eth’ on the end of it – like “comforteth” that means
the
comfort never stops for one second forever more. It goes on and on and
on. If
someone is just a ‘comfort’ to you, that can mean it can stop and
start. They
might comfort you for a day or two, but then you might never see them
ever
again. But when God comforteth us he never lets up. He is with
us every
second of the day forever.
1:5
For as
the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also
aboundeth by
Christ. Yes,
if you
are a Christian, you will suffer many things for Christ’s sake. You may
be
attacked and your body may be harmed with cuts and bruises and broken
bones.
Christ also suffered on the cross for us and paid the penalty, with his
actual
shed blood, for our sins to God the Father. But we are consoled
(comforted) by
Christ, because when he left this earth, he sent the Holy Ghost to come
and
live in us. This is called the Spirit of Christ which comes and dwells
in us (Romans
8:9).
1:6
And whether we be afflicted, it is for your
consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the
same sufferings
which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your
consolation
and salvation.
If
you are a
minister or pastor and have never had any trouble, you won’t know how
to
comfort anyone. God will send you trouble and he will comfort you with
his
grace, You are then able to know how to comfort others in trouble.
1:7
And our
hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the
sufferings,
so shall ye be also of the consolation.
So
Paul says
“Dear Corinthians, I have endured many things for your sakes, so that I
can
comfort you. There is nothing that is happening to you that I haven’t
already
experienced.” The words that Paul uses to describe these sufferings all
through
his second letter to the churches at Corinth are “anguish,
perplexity, devour,
smite, bondage, weak, despair, forsaken, faint, persecuted, sorry,
grieved,
down, perish, burden, cast down, groaning, poor,
chastened,
hunger, beaten, perils, pain, infirmity, stoned, reproaches, offended,
weariness, mourning, trembling, fear, poverty, affliction, despair,
necessities, imprisonments, distressed, destruction, tumults, killed,
tribulation, dying, suffering, terrified, death.
Paul
said he
was stedfast (absolutely sure) that just as they have had sufferings,
they will
also be consoled and comforted by him and God himself.
1:8
For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant
of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of
measure,
above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
1:9 But we
had the sentence of death in ourselves,
that we should not trust in ourselves, but in
God which
raiseth the dead:
Paul
then
tells them about his trouble when he travelled in Asia (over in Ephesus
and
surrounding region). They had no hope of getting out of trouble. They
thought
they were going to die. They were ‘pressed out of measure’ this means
they were
like something that had been squashed so flat, that you couldn’t
measure the
height of it. It was so thin because so much pressure had been applied
to it.
They were pushed down so flat and beyond measure above and beyond the
strength
of the common man or that any ordinary man could endure. But they knew
that even
if they were killed God could raise them up anyhow if he wanted to. God
did
that to his own son Jesus Christ didn’t he (see Galatians
1:1).
1:10
Who delivered us from so great a death, and
doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
In
case you
didn’t know dear Corinthians, Paul says, we had no strength left, our
lives
were in great danger and the only one who could deliver us was God
himself. And
I suspect, that should we have died, God could bring us back to life
again if
he wanted to.
Now
dear
people in Pakistan, you may be wondering why the Lord is putting you
through
many trials and tests? Good question. Look at it this way. When you
throw
yourselves totally on the Lord to save you, you will give him all the
glory
won’t you? Of course you will! It’s like Moses at the Red Sea when the
Egyptians were chasing the people of Israel through the desert. They
had no
hope of saving themselves. Imagine all the praise and glory God got
from that
when they got to the other side? You see, in the West here, in
Australia,
England and America, we can rely on many things to get us out of
trouble. So
God can be a bit of an ‘add on’ in our lives. Nice to have him hang
around a
bit and give us a lift at Sunday services for an hour. So a lot of
Christians
forget about him the rest of the week. God hates this.
You
see,
this is why the church grows in places like Pakistan, because you are
totally dependent
on him for food, work and security. There is a verse that says Precious
in
the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. Psalm
116:15 (KJB). Be absolutely convinced dear Christians in
Pakistan, that
God just loves you very much and you are very precious. You are
the
apple of his eye (Zechariah
2:8). Great are your rewards in heaven and for all eternity because
of the
tests you are undergoing at the moment.
1:11
Ye also helping together by prayer for us,
that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks
may be
given by many on our behalf.
Thank
you
for helping us by praying for us. On the behalf of many others we send
you
their thanks as well. The Corinthians had heard about his trouble in
Asia and
many of them had gotten together in prayer for him. The result was that
a lot
of people had thanked God for what he had done. It’s like when Peter
was in
prison. (Read Acts chapter 12 when Peter was in prison and many were
praying
for him as well). The important thing is that God gets all the glory
and he
gets all the thanks.
3. He has
earned a right to their sympathy by his sincerity (verses
12-14)
1:12
For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of
our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with
fleshly
wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the
world, and
more abundantly to you-ward.
Pail
was
able to look back with joy about the things he taught the Corinthians
with a
clear conscience. In fact Paul had dealt with the world in this way
also. He
had done his best. He had used the right methods. He had no regrets or
a bad
conscience. He had used “simplicity and godly sincerity, and not with
any of
his own fleshly wisdom. He was not being wise in his own eyes. He had
not tried
to trick them in any way but had been open and honest with them.
1:13
For we write none other things unto you, than
what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to
the end;
In
this
verse Paul says that the first letter he has written to them (1st
Corinthians) was indeed from him. Some of the Corinthians had read the 1st
letter to them, but had not realised that he was speaking with the
authority of
God as an apostle sent by the will of God and did not appreciate what
he had
said. So he refers back to 1Corinthians 14:37 which says If any man think
himself
to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the
things
that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
1:14
As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that
we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are our's in the day of the Lord
Jesus.
For
they had
recognized him in part only, from a human point of view – Paul had a
part in
their being saved, he had lead them to the Lord and they rejoiced that
God had
sent him.
‘The
day of
the Lord Jesus’ is the rapture when very shortly all true Christians
shall be
taken home to heaven to be with the Lord forever. When
“… the Lord himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trump of
God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are
alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the
Lord in
the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
At the
rapture Paul said we will rejoice in each soul that has been
saved.
For
what is
our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the
presence of our
Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy. 1Thessalonians 2:19-20.
2. His change
of purpose regarding his visit to Corinth plus a brief
outline of the gospel (verses 15-21)
1:15
And in this confidence I was minded to come
unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;
Paul
went to
them first in Acts 19:1 and formed the church. This was their
first
benefit (gain, good, profit) in that he taught them and got them saved
and so
on. After he leaves, he then writes to them with 1st
Corinthians.
Paul then says that he is planning, and is confident, on going to them
again in
(1 Corinthians 16:3-7). But he doesn’t make it. (So
when we
get to 2 Corinthians 13:1, Paul says that he is coming to
them a
third time.
In
summary:
He went to them the first time. He was going to them the 2nd
time
but he didn’t make it. But he is coming to them the 3rd time.
1:16
And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come
again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way
toward
Judaea.
Paul
would
leave you then travel North to Macedonia and then return to Corinth
again and
then return across the Aegean Sea to Judea.
1:17
When I therefore was thus minded, did I use
lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the
flesh,
that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?
Paul
says
“Was I joking or being light-hearted when I said these things about
coming to
you?” Paul then asks the question “Was it just my flesh talking? Did I
just
promise to come to you on the spur of the moment? Was It off the top of
my
head?” You can hear him say under his breath “God forbid it was not!”
He goes
on to say “Look dear Corinthians, my ‘yes’ is a ‘yes’ and my ‘no’ is a
‘no’! I
mean what I say and I say what I mean. There was no half-hearted
promise to
come to you. I WAS COMING!”
1:18 But
as God is true, our word toward you was
not yea and nay.
Let
God be
true, that my promise was not a ‘yes-no’ or fifty-fifty.” I wasn’t
being
half-hearted when I said I was coming to you.
1:19
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was
preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was
not yea
and nay, but in him was yea.
When
I,
Paul, and Silvanus and Timotheus, who are my helpers, preached the
gospel to
you, we were not half-hearted about it. We were 100% committed and 100%
sure
about what we preached. It was not “Well, you know, if you believe on
the Lord
Jesus Christ to save you, he might do it and he might not. No, it is a
gold
edged promise that Christ will, in no way, refuse or reject anyone who
comes to
him to be saved. We are sure of that just as I was sincere when I said
I would
come to you. I said ‘yes’ I was coming and before God, he knows that I
am not
lying.”
1:20
For all the promises of God in him are yea,
and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. When
God promises something, he means 100% yes. Not
98% yes and 2% no. Paul says “When we say ‘Amen’, we say it in perfect
faith
and 100% grateful adoration, glory and worship to God the Father.”
1:21 Now
he which stablisheth us with you in
Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
The
Corinthians have been established by God in Christ through Paul. He has
taught
them many things on how to live the Christian life and so on. In
addition God
has anointed us all with the Holy Ghost. Our foundations are firm as
concrete
because we are children of God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
5. Explanation
of his reason for not coming to Corinth
(verses 22-24)
1:22 Who
hath also sealed us, and given the earnest
of the Spirit in our hearts.
Just
like
you seal a glass jar with screw-on lid, God has sealed us. No-one can
steal us
from the jar and we can’t get out either. And inside of us we have the
Holy
Ghost which can never leave us or ‘get out the jar’. We have eternal
security.
But, much more than that, Paul uses the example of buying something.
It’s like
someone goes into a shop but they don’t have all the money for a
certain item.
So they put a deposit down of say 5%, 10% or 50% on that item
they want.
Now, the shopkeeper by law, can not sell that item to anyone else. The
person buying the item is earnest and serious and determined to get it
so
much so, that he has given the shopkeeper some money to keep it for
him. So
they call it an ‘earnest’, because they are, determined to come back,
pay what
is owing and then take it home.
Now
God the
Father is earnest with us also. He has put the deposit of the Holy
Ghost in us
when we get saved (believe on the Lord Jesus Christ). We are his.
No-one else
can buy us. We are simply waiting for the rapture (being caught up),
which will
happen shortly. As stated before, the best scripture is as follows and
you
should learn it by heart.
2
For
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with
a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:
and the
dead in Christ shall rise first:
3
Then
we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in
the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
4
Wherefore
comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)
1:23
Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul,
that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.
Paul
says
“God is my witness and I lie not, that when I first wrote to you in 1st
Corinthians, about your church disorder of factions, immorality,
incest,
lawsuits, meats offered to idols, Lord’s supper abuse, divisions,
strifes,
false apostles, marriage problems, disorderly conduct of assemblies,
lack of
ministry support, self-promotion, women’s role in the church and
resurrection
heresies, I was so upset that I was afraid that I would be too harsh on
you and
give you a very stern talking to (‘rip you to shreds’). This is why I
didn’t
come the second time to you.”
1:24
Not for that we have dominion over your faith,
but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
Paul
says
“We (Paul, Silvanus, Timotheus) do not and will not dominate your
faith. Yes,
we rule over you (1Timothy
5:17; Hebrews 13:7, 17,
24) but we are not dictators. We want to help your
joy in
the Lord because the joy of the Lord, and the joy that comes from the
Lord, is
our strength (Nehemiah
8:10). You stand because of your faith not your works or our rules
and
regulations (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Questions
to discuss/ things to learn:
5.
What
did you learn about in 1st
Corinthians?
6.
Trust
in the Lord despite the circumstances that
you find yourself in.
7. Don’t jump
to false conclusions
8. Grow up
and be more mature Christians.
9. Stop
listening to false teachers
10.
Look
to the Lord in all things and get your eyes
off others
PAUL’S
SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER 2
What you
will learn:
11.
Paul
continues his reason for not coming direct
from Ephesus (verses 1-4)
12.
Their
treatment of the man who committed incest
(verses 5-11)
13.
Paul
is thankful at the news that Titus brought
from Corinth about his first letter (verses 12-17)
1. Paul
continues his reason for not coming direct
from Ephesus (verses 1-4)
2:1 But I
determined this with myself, that I would not come again to
you in heaviness.
This
was to
be Paul’s second visit to them. He didn’t go. Paul was unwilling to
arrive on
their doorstep too soon and grieve them. This could have happened if
they
didn’t deal with the case of incest in the proper manner. He had to
give them
the time to work this out and deal with the man in question. He didn’t
want to
get to Corinth prematurely and before the correct time. He didn’t want
to get
there and rebuke people and throw them out of the church. He was
wanting them
to fix this up themselves – which they did. He wanted to be a partaker
of their
joy in the Lord and have cheerful meetings with them rather then
disagreements
that could have happened.
He
didn’t
want to be a ‘wet blanket’ as the saying goes by being ‘heavy’ with
them. But
Paul was very sad over the sin that happened in the church there. And
Paul had
a heavy feeling in himself about it all.
Paul is
stopped by God in going to them straight away after he sent them
the first letter.
He
goes
North to Troas and then Macedonia where he meets Titus in Macedonia who
gives
him the good news they had repented.
2:2
For if I make you sorry, who is he then that
maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?
Paul
says
that if he made them sorry and caused them grief, who would make him
happy?
Answer? Nobody. He wanted to have a cheerful get together with them
all, and
not to be correcting and rebuking them
2:3
And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I
came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having
confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.
Paul
says
that his joy would come from them being joyful and vice versa. If they
are
sorrowful, then he would be sorrowful as well. In fact, Paul’s joy are
the
saints at Corinth.
2:4
For out of much affliction and anguish of heart
I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but
that ye
might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you. Sometimes
children misbehave because no-one will
correct them. They are wanting discipline. So it is the same with
ministers and
Pastors. People, when corrected, know that the Pastor cares for them
even if
they don’t like it. Now even with correcting and sternly righting the
wrongs
that happen in a church with acts of discipline, faithful ministers
show their
love. However, the discipline needed for correcting offenders is often
hurtful
and grievous to faithful ministers and is often given with heaviness of
heart.
2. Their
treatment of the man who committed incest
(verses 5-11)
2:5
But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved
me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.
Paul
says
that he is only partly grieved and sorrowful. He says they were a
puffed up
church and had not mourned over this incest case (1 Corinthians 5:2 ). But seeing they had fixed up
the
problem under his previous instructions in his first letter to them, he
wouldn’t be too hard on them as a whole congregation. The punishment of
being
put out of the church till the man repented and was humbled, was the
clearing
action needed.
2:6
Sufficient to such a man is this punishment,
which was inflicted of many.
The
man’s
punishment was just enough and sufficient which was brought about by
the many
people of the whole church. They all agreed to do this.
2:7
So that
contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest
perhaps such
a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow
So
Paul says
that having put this man out of the church as punishment, the church
should
forgive him and comfort him. Charity (love from one Christian to
another)
covers many sins (1Peter
4:8).
Truly
sorrowful people shouldn’t be left to themselves to wallow in their
grief. They
shouldn’t be left to fall into despair. This can make you unfit for
other
duties. This is godly sorrow, a sorrow toward God and not sorrow of the
world.
Godly sorrow is good (2Corinthians 7:10). You know the sort of sorrow
that people
have when they have just been found out? They are just sorry they got
caught.
This is simply worldly sorrow.
2:8
Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm
your love toward him.
Paul urges
them as a congregation, to all prove their love to this man.
Confirm =
con + firm. Con = together. Be firm in your love to this man.
Do this together.
2:9
For to this end also did I write, that I might
know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
He wrote
his first epistle to them with a severe tone to 1. Avoid the
necessity for a painful visit (verse 3)
2.
To
show his special love for them (verse 4) 3. To
test their obedience in disciplining the man in question and know
whether they
would pass the test. Their faithfulness was proved.
2:10
To whom
ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to
whom I
forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;
If
you have
forgiven the man, then I do too for your sakes. Also for the sake of
Christ and
in his name, and in his presence, because I Paul, and indeed
yourselves, are to
be examples of kindness and tender mercy to all those who truly repent.
2:11
Lest Satan
should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. Another
reason to forgive is so Satan will not get
hold of the mind of the man and drive him to despair, all because you
wouldn’t forgive
him. This is one of the ways that Satan works in separating Christians
from
other Christians.
3. Paul is
thankful at the news that Titus brought
from Corinth about his first letter.
2:12
Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach
Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,
Now
in
addition to my not coming to you straight across the sea from Ephesus,
God
opened up a door for evangelising when I went North to Troas to preach
the
gospel. People got saved as a result of this.
2:13
I had no rest in my spirit, because I found
not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence
into
Macedonia.
I
thought
that Titus would meet me there having come from you at Corinth, but
that didn’t
happen. He was going to tell me all about how you had received my first
letter
to you. So I continued further North to Macedonia.
2:14
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth
us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his
knowledge by us
in every place.
Now
this is
the place, in Macedonia, he met Lydia the seller of purple cloth. You
see, he
tells the Corinthians, that even though he didn’t go and visit them,
God used
him to get people saved at Troas and indeed at Philippi, the main city
of
Macedonia.
(He later
writes to the Philippian church (churches) in his letter to
the Philippians).
So
he thanks
God that no matter what the circumstances, God will always cause us to
triumph
by being in Christ. Our triumphs are always in Christ, In ourselves we
are weak
and don’t have joy or victory, but in Christ we do!
Now
a savour
is a smell or a taste. In this case it is the wonderful ‘smell’ and
‘taste’ of
leading people to the Lord with the knowledge that he died for all of
man’s
sins – past, present and future. Nothing more to pay or do to make up
for our
sins to God, but believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as he did it for us.
He
washes away all our sins (Revelation 1:5) and puts his right standing with
God the
Father into our spiritual bank account. He exchanges his goodness for
our
badness. So God the Father accepts me just as if I’d never sinned. Get
it? Justified
= just – as - if – I’d never sinned.
It’s
like a
judge in a court of law. The criminal being tried is found guilty. The
punishment is death. But the judge takes off his robes and goes to the
gas
chamber instead of the criminal. The criminal is set free. Someone has
paid the
penalty for his crime. So Jesus sets us free such that we don’t have to
go to
hell and suffer the fires of punishment forever more.
2:15
For we
are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in
them that
perish:
2:16
To the one we are the savour of death unto
death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is
sufficient for
these things?
To
the
person who gets saved, they have the sweet smell of the Lord Jesus
Christ in
their life because he has given them eternal life. To the person who
will not
accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour, all they have to look forward to
is
death, physical death, which becomes a living death in the fires of
hell. Oh
yes, we all live forever – some in heaven but most in hell. Paul goes
on to
say, that apart from the grace of God, he would not be able to perform
such a
duty in his own strength. All our sufficiency comes from God. The work
is so
great but of ourselves we have no strength at all. He is definitely not
capable
or sufficient.
2:17
For we are not as many, which corrupt the word
of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak
we in
Christ.
But
we are
not like many of the churches and Pastors which twist and change the
word of
God, the holy scriptures. Here he refers to those in Corinth that have
turned
their hearts away from Paul by teaching false and incorrect doctrine.
These
were the Jews that had come into the church and started whispering lies
about
Paul. He deals with these liars and fraudsters in the next chapter of 2
Corinthians.
Paul
has
taught the Corinthian church nothing but the truth in sincerity before
God. He
speaks the truth that is to be found in Christ and Christ alone. As we
shall
see, these Jews were saying to the church that they should start paying
more
attention to the law of Moses and all that it commanded people to do.
This
happening in the churches today as people who are sympathetic to Moses
and his
laws and the feasts of Israel, are urging people to start acting out
things
like the Festival of Booths, the Passover, Pentecost and so on.
Indeed,
they
are saying that keeping the law of Moses give you good favour in the
sight of
God. In fact, they are saying that you can lose your salvation if you
don’t.
You know, like the Seventh Day Adventists who say you can’t be saved
unless you
worship on Saturday, which is the Jewish Sabbath. These are people who
corrupt
the word of God. There are the Roman Catholics that say you can never
have
eternal security in Christ. Why? Because their Jesus is the little
wafer
biscuit they eat at the Lord’s supper. They say it is the actual, body
of
Christ. Can you imagine that? Some priest mutters some magic words like
‘Abracadabra’ and the bread is supposed to be turned into the actual
body of
Christ. Furthermore, the Pope in Rome says the priest has the power to
turn the
grape juice into the actual blood of Christ! What blasphemy! What lies!
Anyhow,
as
Paul says, the law of Moses is holy and glorious. However it is far
exceeded
and surpassed in glory and holiness with the liberty to be found in
Christ
alone. This is in chapter 3.
************
Questions
to discuss:
14.
Do you
have any questions on chapter 1 or chapter
2?
15.
What did
you learn in studying 2 Corinthians
chapter 2?
PAUL’S
SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER 3
What you
will learn:
3.
Paul
makes
an apology for seeming to defend himself. Paul does not need any
recommendation
(verses 1-3)
4. Paul’s
sufficiency comes from God (verses 4-6)
5.
God
has made
Paul a minister of the New Testament which is to be found in Christ.
This new
testament is far more glorious than that given to Moses with the ten
commandments (verses 7-11)
6.
Paul’s
ministry needs no vail upon his face unlike
Moses, who had to wear one, after meeting with God on Mt Sinai (verses
12-13)
7.
To
this very
day in March 2020, the Jews still have darkened hearts toward Christ
because
they are still under the veil of Moses (verses 14-15)
8. However
one day this veil shall be removed off Israel (verses 16-18)
9.
Paul’s
purpose in this chapter is to compare the
bondage that Moses stood for against the freedom found in Christ.
Paul’s
critics and opposition in Corinth was coming from some
Jews
there. They were trying to bring the
Christians back under obeying the law like worshipping on Saturday, not
eating
certain foods, washings and rituals, the feast and celebrations, and
all the
laws, rituals and ceremonies found in the books of Leviticus and
Deuteronomy
that governed the whole lives. Paul said “Christ has done all them on
your
behalf. You have been set free. There is liberty and freedom in Christ.”
9.
Paul
makes
an apology for seeming to defend himself. Paul does not need any
recommendation
(verses 1-3)
3:1
Do we begin
again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of
commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
Paul
doesn’t
have to commend himself to them. He thought it necessary to protest his
sincerity to them, because there were some at Corinth who were trying
to
undermine him and his reputation. Generally when strangers come into a
church
they have with them letters and credentials from others that recommend
them.
Paul treats this as absurd to suppose that he or Timothy should need
such
letters from them or from those at Jerusalem. Paul defends himself by
his being
sincere toward them.
3:2 Ye are
our epistle written in our hearts, known
and read of all men:
But
Paul
says if they wanted any such letters, they should look at themselves.
The very
name and existence of the Corinthian church was sufficient proof
enough. Indeed
they were written on Paul’s heart and he could appeal and refer to them
whenever he wanted to in conversation with others. In fact, they were
known
among all men. Nothing is so satisfying or delightful for a minister or
Pastor,
than the success of their ministry with the changed lives of those in
the
church and who work with them.
3:3
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly (obviously)
declared to be the epistle of Christ
ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the
living God;
not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
The
Corinthians were themselves were the letters of recommendation. They
were
written on his heart. Christ was the founder and Paul was the minister
who
looked after them. The Corinthians were the letters themselves, not
written on
paper with ink, or engraved upon stone, but were written on Christ’s
heart and
Paul’s heart. They were not written upon stone like the laws of Moses,
but
written by the finger of God, as it were, upon Paul’s heart. He utterly
refuses
to take any credit for this but gives all the glory to God.
16.
Paul’s
sufficiency comes solely from God (verses
4-6)
3:4 And
such trust have we through Christ to
God-ward:
Paul
says
that the trust he has in all this is toward God through Christ. That is
in the
direction to God all because of Jesus Christ.
3:5
Not that
we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but
our
sufficiency is of God;
All
true pastors, teachers and
preachers know that their strength, effectiveness and success is all of
God and
his grace and his mercy. Only what God can give will make us sufficient.
3:6 Who
also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of
the letter, but of the
spirit:
for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
The
new
testament is to be found in Christ. The letter refers to the letters on
the
table of the two stones that Moses brought down from the mountain.
These had
the law on them. These were the ten commandments. Trying to act out the
ten
commandments to impress God can’t be done. You see, the law was given
not to
save us, or indeed the Jews under the old testament, but to show we are
sinners
and cannot keep God’s high standards. God did this deliberately to show
how
pathetic we really are in his sight. Knowing that a man is not
justified by
the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have
believed
in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and
not by
the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be
justified. Galatians 2:16
Wherefore
the
law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by
faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a
schoolmaster. Galatians 3:24-25
Do
you know
what a schoolmaster says all the time? “You are not good enough! You
can do
better!” So the law says “You can’t be good enough. You are not good
enough.
You need the goodness of Christ”. Now when we believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ
to be our Saviour, we have the Spirit put into us in the form of the
Holy
Ghost. So the Spirit gives life.
5
God
has made Paul a minister of the new testament which is to be found
in Christ. This new
testament
is far more glorious that that given to
Moses with the ten commandments (verses 7-11)
3:7
But if the ministration of death, written and
engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could
not
stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance;
which
glory was to be done away:
The
two
tables of stone with the laws of God written on them, were God’s way of
ministering to Israel under the old testament. Now because God is pure,
sinless
and perfect, his laws are pure, perfect and glorious. No-one can
possibly keep
them. They couldn’t even stand the glory of them. That’s why when Moses
came
down off Mt Sinai after having spent time with God alone, Moses’ face
shone
like a very bright light that blinded the eyes. That’s why he had to
put a
cloth (veil) over his face, because they could not bear to look on his
face.
The countenance of Moses was his face. But this glory of God’s laws
that were
reflected in Moses’ face was to be replaced by the glory of Christ.
Why? Christ
was better than the law because he fulfilled every demand of it. He
beat it. He
conquered it. He subdued it as a man of flesh. Christ came to fulfil
the law in
the flesh, such that we can have his victory of ‘beating/fulfilling‘
the law,
put into our account.
3:8 How
shall not the ministration of the spirit be
rather glorious?
Our
soul gets saved and our spirit becomes born
again by God’s Spirit. So God’s Spirit (God’s Spirit always has a
capital “S”)
ministers to our spirit (our spirit always has a small “s”). See the
difference?
Yes,
God’s Spirit that ministers to us in the form
of the Holy Ghost, comes inside of us and attends and cares for our
little
human spirit. “This is a glorious thing” says Paul.
3:9
For if the ministration of condemnation be
glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
Paul
says the law was glorious. Paul says that the
law which was given to condemn us and show us we are sinners, was
glorious.
Why? It shows that we are not God. God’s law are glorious. The mere
fact that
we can’t keep them doesn’t mean they aren’t glorious.
Now,
Paul
says that having Christ’s right standing with God, his righteousness,
is more
glorious than the law. Why? Christ was better than the law. It couldn’t
and
didn’t defeat him. Christ not only defeated the law. We say he
fulfilled it.
Christ did everything that the law wanted of him. So Christ’s
righteousness in
fulfilling the law is more glorious than the law.
3:10
For even that which was made glorious had no
glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
God’s
law had no glory compared to Christ’s glory.
Christ glory exceeded and surpassed what the law demanded.
3:11
For if that which is done away was glorious,
much more that which remaineth is glorious. The
law was put aside or done away with when Christ fulfilled it. The
law was glorious, but what was left was Christ’s glory of fulfilling
the law.
The condemnation of the law (which was glorious) was done away with
when Christ
did what it demanded. Therefore what Christ did was more glorious than
the law.
11.
Paul’s
ministry needs no veil upon his face unlike
Moses, who had to wear a veil over his face after
meeting
with God on Mt Sinai (verses 12-13)
3:12
Seeing then that we have such hope, we use
great plainness of speech:
So
Paul
doesn’t have to cover up like Moses. Paul speaks very plainly. Good
ministers
do this. Bad minsters don’t. They talk in complicated ways and no-one
can
understand them. Because what Christ has done is open to all and very
plain to
see, we can tell people exactly where they will be after they die.
God’s love
is Jesus Christ. Have him as Saviour and you will go to heaven. If you
don’t,
then God must send you to hell because you have unforgiven sins that
have not
been washed away by the blood of Christ.
3:13
And not as Moses, which put a veil over his
face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end
of that
which is abolished:
No
matter
how hard they tried in keeping the law, they could only have temporary
forgiveness of sins by the blood of animals. The old testament Jew
could not
see Jesus Christ in the future. They could not see a time when they
would have
eternal security once and for all, by the blood of Christ. Their eyes
were
blocked. Moses face blocked out the light of the law that made his face
shine.
Christ is called the Light that lighteth every man that comes into the
world (John
1:9).
5.
To
this very
day in March 2020, the unsaved Jews still have darkened hearts toward
Christ because
they are still under the veil of Moses (verses 14-15)
3:14
But their minds were blinded: for until this
day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old
testament;
which vail is done away in Christ.
As
the saying goes “The old is in the new revealed
and the new is in the old concealed.” Jesus Christ is hidden in the old
testament but is revealed in the new testament.
The
modern day Jew still have blocked and blinded
minds. The old veil of trying to impress God with their keeping the law
(which
they could never do) needs to be removed from them. It is a spiritual
blindness.
3:15 But
even unto this day, when Moses is read,
the veil is upon their heart.
Because
most
Jews today have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour, a veil is
on their
heart and they have blinded minds that will not accept the fact that
they need
Jesus Christ’s perfect keeping of the law put into their account, so
that they
may get to heaven. They are still with Moses who has a veil over his
face.
6. However
one day this veil shall be removed off
Israel (verses 16-18)
3:16
Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord,
the vail shall be taken away.
Now
sometime
in the 7 year tribulation, Israel will have their blindfold over their
eyes and
minds, taken away by God himself. It won’t be the result of their
efforts
either. It will be by remote control from God. He will just do it one
day when
the time is right. And I will pour upon the house of David, and
upon the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and
they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall
mourn for
him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness
for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. Zechariah 12:10
And all
Israel shall be saved in that day.
3:17 Now
the Lord is that Spirit: and where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
The
Lord
Jesus Christ is God. God the Father is God. The Holy Ghost, which is
the
indwelling Spirit of God, is God as well. We are no longer under the
bondage
and the curse of the law to keep it. We are set free. The law has done
it’s
work. Without the law, we would not know we are sinners and we could
not be
saved by Christ. So the law was wonderful to reveal sin in us that
Christ could
save us and set us free. Give us liberty.
3:18
But we all, with open face beholding as in a
glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory
to
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
The
more we
clean up our lives by obeying what God wants from us today, the more we
see
clearly who Christ was, is and shall be. We are being changed every day
from
glory to glory and hopefully becoming more like Christ. The Jew in the
old
testament in the desert only saw the glory of God in the cloud that led
them
around and the fire at night. But we have, as it were, a more clear
picture of
Christ as in a mirror. The more we examine ourselves and prove we are
in the
faith, we are changed from glory into more glory (2 Corinthians 13:5; Philippians 2:12).
Question:
“What did you learn from this chapter?”
PAUL’S
SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER 4
What you
will learn:
1. Paul
outlines the glory of his gospel ministry (verses 1-6)
10.
This
preaching of the gospel sustains the hearts
and minds of Christ’s ministers through all their
weaknesses
and trials (verses 7-15)
This
is especially true by their faith in things that are unseen (verses
16-18)
People
who are still trying to get saved by works
are still under the works of the old testament law. The ministry that
Paul sets
out in this chapter is as follows: “You are
sinners
and don’t deserve to be
saved. You can’t earn your salvation by doing the works of the law
because
God’s standard is 100% perfection. Just supposing you could keep the
outward
aspects of the law, it still wouldn’t be right, because God demands
that you
have a love of the law and a desire of the heart to fulfil it. Not just
going
through the outward motions. Therefore no-one can keep the law. But God
will
save you if you come to him as a sinner and trust that Jesus Christ not
only
kept the law on your behalf but also he had the right heart attitude to
it
because he loved it. You can trust in the perfect work of Jesus and not
your
own works.”
1. Paul
outlines the glory of his gospel ministry
(verses 1-6)
4:1
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy,
we faint not;
Paul
has the
ministry of reconciliation which means that he brings people to know
Jesus
Christ. He brings them together. He introduces the sinner to Christ.
“Dear sinner,
have you ever met Christ? Why don’t I tell you about him and what he
has done
for you. Why don’t you shake his hand, become friends by having him as
your
Saviour. Yes, only Jesus can save you from God’s wrath of sending you
to hell
because you are a sinner.” That is what is called the ministry of
reconciliation. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled
us to
himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation; 2 Corinthians 5:18
Now
we have been given God’s mercy and been saved,
we will work for him. We will not faint because of the task ahead of us
with
this ministry.
4:2
But have renounced the hidden things of
dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God
deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to
every
man's conscience in the sight of God.
False
teachers are dishonest, they are cunning and crafty, and they destroy
God’s words
and their meanings, found in the King James Bible, The Authorized
Bible. Such
as: 1. They add words 2. They subtract words 3. They remove a verse
form the
Bible 4. They change and substitute words for others in the Bible.
These false
Bibles are the NIV, the NASB, the Good News and so on. In other words,
there
are over 300 Bibles that differ from The King James Bible. All these
other so
called ‘bibles’ have been corrupted and most of them come out of Rome
and their
scholars. Paul says “We will clearly show you by our actions that we
have the
truth. We will not lie to you. We will tell you, that you don’t have to
mix the
works of the law of the old testament with Christ having completed and
fulfilled these works for you on your behalf.” The minister has to “provide
things honest in the sight of all men.” (Romans
12:17). Let people think what they like about you, but be
honest and
genuine. Don’t pretend, no “put-ons’, no calculated and controlled
speeches to
produce the right impression or get the desired results. DON’T BE A
HYPOCRITE.
4:3 But if
our gospel be hid, it is hid to them
that are lost:
The
question
we often ask ourselves is this “Why don’t’ all people get saved?”
Answer: “They
are lost because of the reason found in the next verse.
4:4
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the
minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel
of
Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Satan
blinds
the minds people. How does he do this? Easy. He whispers in their ears
and says
things like “You aren’t as bad as the next person. They are really bad
sinners.
They need to get saved before you do.” Or he says “Look, you have done
a lot of
good things for others. Surely this will impress God and he’ll let you
into
heaven.” Or Satan will say “You are a politician and have helped many
people
with passing good laws for them.” Or “You have given a lot of money to
help
others” You have fasted twice a week.” Does this remind you of anyone?
That’s
right the Pharisee.
17.
The
Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,
God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners,
unjust,
adulterers, or even as this publican.
18.
I
fast twice in the week, I give tithes
of all that I possess.
19.
And
the publican, standing afar off, would
not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast,
saying,
God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his
house
justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself
shall be
abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke
18:11-14 (KJB).
There
was
another man wasn’t there? The publican (tax-gatherer. He collected
taxes for a living).
Satan blinds the minds of people by “puffing them up”. You are a really
good
person. There are a lot of others worse than you. You are top of the
tree.” And
so on.
But as the
Bible says “All the good things we do are nothing but filthy
rags in God’s sight” (Isaiah
64:6).
Satan
blinds
us to how 100% perfect Christ is. The glorious gospel of Christ is this
“You
are a sinner, blind to your own sin but Christ was perfect. To get into
heaven
you must have Christ’s works put into your account.” It’s like a bank
account
you have at the bank, however this is God’s bank and you must have a
spiritual
account with him. Now in that spiritual account, when God looks into
it, he
must see “Ah good. This man has Christ’s works in it. This man has
Christ’s
works as a substitute instead of his own. Well done my son, please come
into
heaven.”
You
see Satan
works on the flesh and on the mind and says “Your works are better
than Christ’s.
You can reject what he has done for you. You have done enough and in
your heart
you really are a good person even though you sin and are not perfect.”
As the
scriptures say For we dare not make ourselves of the number,
or
compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring
themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among
themselves, are not
wise. 2 Corinthians 10:12 (KJV)
4:5
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus
the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
Why
do
ministers want to preach about themselves all the time? They shouldn’t.
Go back
to the gospels and preach Jesus – his life, his works, what he did, his
perfect
works, his death, his burial, his resurrection and so on. Paul says we
are your
helpers and servants for the sake of Jesus. In other words as he has
saved us
and guided us, we are here to likewise for you.
4:6
For God, who commanded the light to shine out
of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the
knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Christ
appeared physically on the earth and was the bright shining
light.
The
people
that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the
land of
the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Isaiah
9:2. Israel
have seen Jesus Christ in
the flesh. They were in darkness and Jesus was sent to them as
a bright
shining light. In fact, the star that came from the East and guided the
wise
men to the manger showed that Christ was the light that had come unto,
and
onto, the earth (Matthew
2:2).
Now
even as
we know no more Christ in the flesh Wherefore henceforth know we no
man
after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the
flesh, yet
now henceforth know we him no more. 2Corinthians 5:16 , we can have Christ shine
in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost as Christ now sits in heaven at the right hand
of God
the Father (Hebrews 10:12; 12:2).
Christ not only is the Light that lighteth every one that is born (we
all have
conscience), but for those who are saved, we have him in our hearts. He
is the
treasure in earthen vessels.
Christ
is
the brightness of God’s glory as the scriptures say Who
(Jesus) being
the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of
his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he
had
by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
on high; Hebrews
1:3 (King James Bible)
6
This
preaching of the gospel sustains the hearts and minds of Christ’s
ministers through all their weaknesses and trials (verses 7-15)
4:7
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
What
is this
treasure we have in ourselves? Our physical bodies are the vessels made
for the
earth. Adam was formed from the earth and the dust (Gen
2:7). It is Christ himself in our hearts. It is the Holy Ghost in
us. It is
God himself in us. These three are one. For there are three that
bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these
three
are one. 1 John 5:7. Furthermore, In the beginning
was the
Word (Jesus Christ), and the Word was with God, and the
Word
was God. John 1:1 (KJV).
Many
people go through life ‘under their own steam’
as the saying goes. The get through life under their own power. They
won’t let
God control their life and be as a branch that gets its life from the
tree (John
15:4-5).
4:8 We are
troubled on every side, yet not
distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
4:9
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but
not destroyed;
4:10
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the
Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our
body.
What
we have
here, is a comparison between what is happening on the outside of the
body in
the flesh and the state of the treasure on the inside. In the natural
and the
physical, there was all sorts of trials and tribulations, but the Lord
was on
the inside taking care of them. As Paul says I am crucified with
Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and
the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved
me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (KJV).You can prasie God
through
all the mess you are going through at the moment on the outside, but
not
complain and murmur.
4:11
For we which live are alway delivered unto
death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made
manifest in
our mortal flesh.
As
Paul says
elsewhere As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day
long; we
are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we
are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Romans 8:36-37. Victory comes through dying
to self.
4:12 So
then death worketh in us, but life in you.
So
Paul
summarizes by saying, that all the trouble that he had been through
back in
verse 8-11, was for the benefit of the Corinthians. It was to help the
spiritual life of them and work for their good.
4:13
We having the same spirit of faith, according
as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also
believe, and
therefore speak;
This
is Psalm
116:10. Paul says that although some may be of weaker faith, it is
still
the same Holy Ghost, himself, that works his power in us. As David said
in the
old testament, that he spoke as he believed, then Paul says he can do
no better
than follow David in that what Paul believes he speaks. I don’t believe
one
thing and then speak another.
4:14
Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus
shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
Just
as
Christ was raised from the dead by God the Father, when the Lord comes
for us
in the rapture (1Thessalonians 4:16-18) it will be just the same.
Those
that have already died as Christians (they are called dead in Christ)
shall be
brought back to life and we all shall meet the Lord in the air.
4:15
For all things are for your sakes, that the
abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the
glory of
God.
Paul
says
that everything that has happened to him is for the sake of the
Corinthians and
they can then grow further in the Lord. They then can give the Lord
more thanks
for this. The more people that give the Lord thanks, the more glory God
gets.
3. This is
especially true by their faith in things
that are unseen (verses 16-18)
4:16
For which cause we faint not; but though our
outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
Isn’t
that
true! We all die eventually from our bodies rotting away and slowing
down. Our
hearts eventually stop beating. But our souls never die. They live
forever.
What is our soul? It’s like a person in car that crashes. The car may
be
destroyed but the person gets out and walks away. This is a good
description of
the soul. The real you is not your body, but your soul. That is why we
say that
our soul gets saved and our spirit becomes born again. We have a new
spirit. Do
you know anyone like that? Of course. Before they received Jesus Christ
as their
Saviour, they were grumpy, depressed and angry. But God gave them a new
spirit.
Their old spirit became born again, just like a little baby that is
happy all
the time.
4:17
For our light affliction, which is but for a
moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
Paul
calls
everything that happens to us down here as a light affliction. Sort of
like a
mosquito bite that goes for a second. But how we handle it, is the
thing that
is important. Whatever you can do for the Lord down here which includes
a sweet
spirit, that no matter what happens you are giving thanks to the
Lord for
the power he has put in you. In spite of your personal difficulties,
did you
work for the Lord? These are the rewards in heaven that await you.
4:18
While we look not at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are
seen are
temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
We
keep our
eyes on Jesus and he is in heaven right now. We say “Dear Jesus I am
coming
home one day to be with you. I can hardly wait.”
‘Temporal’
means ‘not lasting long’ or ‘temporary’
or ‘short lived’. What happens on earth goes quick but heaven is
forever.
So
we don’t
dwell on our bodies as they will not last forever. They rot. As they
say
“Muscles come and go, but flab lasts forever.”
The real
you is your soul and that is not what you can see.
*************
PAUL’S
SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER 1
What you
will learn:
In spite
of Paul not going to Corinth when he said he would (read 1Corinthians 16:35), Paul reminds the Corinthian
church of
his authority and his decision not to go there. Paul says his ministry
is not
to dominate them but to help them and be a comfort to them.
1. Address
and greeting (verses 1-2)
2. Paul
thanks God for the comfort sent to him by God for his afflictions.
The Corinthians were also sympathetic to him (verses 3-11)
3. He has
earned a right to their sympathy by his sincerity (verses
12-14)
4. His
change of purpose regarding his visit to Corinth plus a brief
outline of the gospel (verses 15-21)
5.
Explanation of his reasons (verses 22-24)
1. Address
and greeting (verses 1-2)
To get a
good understanding of the Bible, we need to understand the
meanings of the words and terms and who are the people that
are
mentioned. So in the first two verses we will explain the
following:
Who is
Paul? What is an apostle? Who is Jesus Christ? What do we mean by
God’s will? Who is Timothy? What is a brother? What is the church? Who
is God?
Where is Corinth? What is a saint? Where is Achaia? What is grace? What
is
peace from God mean? Who is God the Father? Who is the Lord Jesus
Christ?
Who is
Paul? Paul was
that young man, his name was Saul then,
who stood by and watched Stephen being stoned (John
7:58-59). He persecuted the Christian churches, killed Christians
and threw
people into prison. God miraculously confronted him on the way to
Damascus one
day and he became a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, thereby becoming
a Christian
himself. Paul has written 14 of the 27 books of the new testament,
which are
the doctrine (teaching) for all Christian churches today. Paul has his
ministry
to the uncircumcised (the Gentiles – these are all the people of the
world that
are not Jews) and Peter had his ministry to the circumcised (Jews) (Galatians
2:7)
What is an
apostle? An apostle
is a messenger who
delivers messages. Sort of like a postman with a letter. The word is
almost the
same (a-postman-le). So God had special men who
were his
chosen apostles to help teach, preach and guide his church here on
earth. Jesus
Christ chose 12 of them (Matthew
10:2).
Now there
are no apostles or prophets here on earth today (Ephesians 2:19-20). There is no more foundation to
be laid
and there is no prophecy (telling the future) to be had.
As the
scriptures say, they were the foundation of the church (with
Christ as the cornerstone. When a building is built, there is always
one point
on the corner, from which all measurements are taken).
So the
only titles for Christian men today are evangelists, preachers,
pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11).
Who is
Jesus Christ? Jesus
Christ
is God himself come down from heaven in the form of a man.
In heaven
he is called “the Word of God”.
In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. (Jesus is
God).
The same
was in the beginning with God.
All things
were made by him; and
without him was not any thing made that was made. (He
created and made everything)
And the
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, John
1:1, 2, 3,
14
(KJV) (He came
down from heaven and lived here on earth)
The first
verse in the Bible also says that Jesus Christ made the
universe. In the beginning God crested the heaven and the earth
(this
is Jesus Christ) (Genesis
1:1)
Thomas
calls Jesus his God (John
20:28)
God the
Father calls Jesus Christ God (Hebrews
1:8)
What
do we mean by God’s will? We all have a will. “I will
do this!” or “I will do that!”. Now people you live with also have a
will that
may not agree with your will. They want to do something that you don’t.
So God
the Father is like this. Because he is all powerful, knows everything
and can
do anything, it’s always a good idea when we pray to God about things,
that we
be very humble and say to God “Now I have asked you for this and that,
but only
if it agrees with your will.” The Bible says And this is the
confidence that
we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he
heareth us:
1 John 5:14 (KJV). Often when we pray we ask
for things
that would seem good to us, but God knows better, so he doesn’t give it
to us.
We bow to his superior knowledge. Paul says that he is an apostle
because God
willed it. He has a commission from God himself.
Who is
Timothy? Timothy
was one of Paul’s helpers.
Paul led him to the Lord and he got saved (1 Timothy 1:2). Paul called him his son in the
faith.
What is a
brother? You may
have an actual brother or
sister in your family here on earth. Now when we get saved we are put
into
God’s family. So we have spiritual brothers and sisters,
because we have
the same heavenly Father who lives in heaven.
What is
the church? There are
churches and the
church. When you get saved you are spiritually put into (baptised)
Jesus Christ
by the Holy Ghost. This is not water baptism. Now all those in
Jesus Christ
are called the church. Where is Jesus Christ now? He lives in
heaven and
sits on the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews
1:3). Where is the church? It is in heaven. The church
therefore is invisible.
Now there are churches here on earth and these are the true Christians
who get
together for prayer, preaching, teaching and worship. The church
building is
not the church. The Christians who get together are the church. So
when
Paul writes to the church at Corinth, he is writing to those
in Christ
wherever they may be. These are called the churches in Corinth. Just
like he
writes to the churches in Galatia (Galatians
1:2). So for example, one Christian is a church. Two Christians are
a
church and so on. No buildings are needed.
Who is
God? Who is God the Father? God is a
Spirit and he lives in heaven (John
4:24). There are many things we do not know about God. As God says For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith
the
LORD. Isaiah 55:8 (KJV). However, Jesus Christ is
God in the
flesh and the Holy Ghost is God as well. All we need to know about God,
he has
shown us in his scriptures. So we can know much about the nature,
character and
operations of God as revealed in his scriptures. As Jesus is God and
the Holy
Ghost is God, what we know about these two also is a description of God
himself.
There is
only one God but he has three persons (Hebrews
1:3). A good way to imagine God is an apple. There is only one
apple but
it has three parts – the skin, the flesh and the core. Is the
skin the
apple? Yes. Is the core the apple? Yes. Is the flesh the apple?
God is
called the Godhead – God has three ‘heads’ if you like. There is
God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost (Romans
1:20; Colossians 2:9).
Where is
Corinth? Where is Achaia? Corinth is
a
main city in Greece. It is on the left side of the Aegean Sea. Achaia
is the
general region surrounding these cities.
What is a
saint? A saint is
a person who is saved
– saved from the wrath of God. This is also called having salvation.
When Adam sinned in the garden of Eden, that sin was passed onto
everyone that
has ever been born. We are born sinners and that is why we sin. Because
God’s
standard is perfection and sinlessness, he will not let sin or sinners
into
heaven. That is why God became a man, Jesus Christ, and lived a perfect
life on
our behalf. As in the old testament, when God saw sin, he called for
blood of
animals to be shed. This only gave them short term and temporary relief
from
the wrath of God.
Those who
have Jesus Christ as their Saviour are called saints because
they have trusted in the shed blood of Jesus. They now have permanent
security
and protection for the wrath of God.
(Hebrews 10: 12,14)
What is
grace? Grace is a
gift. It’s something
you can’t work for, you can’t earn it and you can’t buy it. When God
sends
himself, in the form of Jesus Christ, down to earth from heaven to pay
the
penalty for our sins, that is the best gift anyone can have. The
scriptures say
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is
the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJB).
What is
peace from God mean? People
misunderstand
by thinking that God will bring peace on earth between people and
nations. No,
this will not happen (Luke
12:51). It means we can only have peace with him to escape his
wrath (Luke
12:14). There will be no peace between men and nations, (in fact
it’s only
going to get worse) till the Prince of Peace returns to rule and reign
here on
earth at the end of the 7 year tribulation coming very shortly. Now
when Jesus
Christ returns to earth to rule and reign, then there will be peace on
this
earth.
1:1 Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our
brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the
saints which
are in all Achaia:
Right from
the start Paul establishes his office of being an apostle and
that it had come by the will of God. He says this that all may
know,
especially the Jews that were opposing him at Corinth.
He calls
Timothy ‘our’ brother to let the Corinthians know that they
were members of the household of faith as well. Achaia was a country
that
surrounded the city of Corinth in Greece.
1:2
Grace be to you and peace
from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace is
something that God gives you which we don’t deserve.
For
example, God sends Jesus Christ do die on the cross for us. This is
grace.
Mercy is
being ‘let off’ and not getting the punishment you do deserve
for something you have done wrong.
Now we
have peace with God the Father because Jesus has taken the
punishment for our sins.
2. Paul
thanks God for the comfort sent to him by God for his
afflictions.
They were
also sympathetic to him (verses 3-11)
1:3
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
When you
are saved, God in the form of the Holy Ghost, comes to live in
you. He is called the Comforter (John
14:26). This means that no matter what, you know God is comforting
you when
under persecution and distress. Sometimes you may not feel this, but
you can
trust the words of God that he will never leave you nor forsake you in
times of
trouble (Hebrews 13:5). Furthermore we are reminded that
‘all things
work together for good for them that love God’ (Romans
8:28).
Now the
meaning of the word ‘mercy’ is covered above. Mercy is not
getting what you deserve. It’s like if you have done wrong, you deserve
to be
punished but you get let off. That’s mercy. So God is merciful to us
all the
time isn’t he?
1:4 Who
comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to
comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we
ourselves
are comforted of God.
Sometimes
you might wonder why God lets you go through trouble and hard
times? The reason is that you will be a blessing to others by
comforting them
when they are tried and tested. So because of our afflictions, we can
be an
example to others. God gives us comfort that we might comfort others.
Now when
we see a word with “-eth’ on the end of it – like “comforteth”
that means the comfort never stops for one second forever more. It goes
on and
on and on. If someone is just a ‘comfort’ to you, that can mean it can
stop and
start. They might comfort you for a day or two, but then you might
never see
them ever again. But when God comforteth us he never lets up.
He is with
us every second of the day forever.
1:5 For as
the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation
also aboundeth by Christ.
Yes, if
you are a Christian, you will suffer many things for Christ’s
sake. You may be attacked and your body may be harmed with cuts and
bruises and
broken bones. Christ also suffered on the cross for us and paid the
penalty,
with his actual shed blood, for our sins to God the Father. But we are
consoled
(comforted) by Christ, because when he left this earth, he sent the
Holy Ghost
to come and live in us. This is called the Spirit of Christ which comes
and
dwells in us (Romans 8:9).
1:6 And
whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and
salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings
which we
also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and
salvation.
If you are
a minister or pastor and have never had any trouble, you
won’t know how to comfort anyone. God will send you trouble and he will
comfort
you with his grace, You are then able to know how to comfort others in
trouble.
1:7 And
our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers
of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
So Paul
says “Dear Corinthians, I have endured many things for your
sakes, so that I can comfort you. There is nothing that is happening to
you
that I haven’t already experienced.” The words that Paul uses to
describe these
sufferings all through his second letter to the churches at Corinth are
“anguish,
perplexity, devour, smite, bondage, weak, despair, forsaken, faint,
persecuted,
sorry, grieved, down, perish, burden, cast down,
groaning, poor,
chastened, hunger, beaten, perils, pain, infirmity, stoned, reproaches,
offended, weariness, mourning, trembling, fear, poverty, affliction,
despair,
necessities, imprisonments, distressed, destruction, tumults, killed,
tribulation, dying, suffering, terrified, death.
Paul said
he was stedfast (absolutely sure) that just as they have had
sufferings, they will also be consoled and comforted by him and God
himself.
1:8 For we
would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which
came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above
strength,
insomuch that we despaired even of life:
1:9 But we
had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not
trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
Paul then
tells them about his trouble when he travelled in Asia (over
in Ephesus and surrounding region). They had no hope of getting out of
trouble.
They thought they were going to die. They were ‘pressed out of measure’
means
they like something that had been squashed so flat, that you couldn’t
measure
the height of it. It was so thin because so much pressure had been
applied to
it. They were pushed down so flat and beyond measure above and beyond
the
strength of the common man or that any ordinary man could endure. But
they knew
that even if they were killed God could raise them up anyhow if he
wanted to.
God did that to his own son Jesus Christ didn’t he (see Galatians
1:1).
1:10 Who
delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom
we trust that he will yet deliver us;
In case
you didn’t know dear Corinthians, Paul says, we had no strength
left, our lives were in great danger and the only one who could deliver
us was
God himself. And I suspect, that should we have died, God could bring
us back
to life again if he wanted to.
Now dear
people in Pakistan, you may be wondering why the Lord is
putting you through many trials and tests? Good question. Look at it
this way.
When you throw yourselves totally on the Lord to save you, you will
give him
all the glory won’t you? Of course you will! It’s like Moses at the Red
Sea
when the Egyptians were chasing the people of Israel through the
desert. They
had no hope of saving themselves. Imagine all the praise and glory God
got from
that when they got to the other side? You see, in the West here, in
Australia,
England and America, we can rely on many things to get us out of
trouble. So
God can be a bit of an ‘add on’ in our lives. Nice to have him hang
around a
bit and give us a lift at Sunday services for an hour. So a lot of
Christians
forget about him the rest of the week. God hates this.
You see,
this is why the church grows in places like Pakistan, because
you are totally dependent on him for food, work and security. There is
a verse
that says Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his
saints. Psalm
116:15 (KJV). Be absolutely convinced dear Christians in
Pakistan, that
God just loves you very much and you are very precious. You are the
apple of
his eye (Zechariah 2:8). Great are your rewards in heaven
and for
all eternity because of the tests you are undergoing at the moment.
1:11 Ye
also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift
bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by
many on
our behalf.
Thank you
for helping us by praying for us. On the behalf of many others
we send you their thanks as well. The Corinthians had heard about his
trouble
in Asia and many of them had gotten together in prayer for him. The
result was
that a lot of people had thanked God for what he had done. It’s like
when Peter
was in prison. (Read Acts chapter 12 when Peter was in prison and many
were
praying for him as well). The important thing is that God gets all the
glory
and he gets all the thanks.
3. He has
earned a right to their sympathy by his sincerity (verses
12-14)
1:12 For
our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in
simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the
grace of
God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to
you-ward.
Paul was
able to look back with joy about the things he taught the Corinthians
with a clear conscience. In fact Paul had dealt with the world in this
way
also. He had done his best. He had used the right methods. He had no
regrets or
a bad conscience. He had used “simplicity and godly sincerity, and not
with any
of his own fleshly wisdom. He was not being wise in his own eyes. He
had not
tried to trick them in any way but had been open and honest with them.
1:13 For
we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or
acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;
In this
verse Paul says that the first letter he has written to them
(1st Corinthians) was indeed from him. Some of the Corinthians had read
the 1st
letter to them, but had not realised that he was speaking with the
authority of
God as an apostle sent by the will of God and did not appreciate what
he had
said. So he refers back to 1 Corinthians 14:37 which says If any man
think himself
to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things
that I
write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
1:14 As
also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your
rejoicing, even as ye also are our's in the day of the Lord Jesus.
For they
had recognized him in part only, from a human point of view –
Paul had a part in their being saved, he had lead them to the Lord and
they
rejoiced that God had sent him.
‘The day
of the Lord Jesus’ is the rapture when very shortly all true
Christians shall be taken home to heaven to be with the Lord forever. When “… the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall
rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall
we ever
be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
At the
rapture Paul said we will rejoice in each soul that has been
saved.
For what
is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in
the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our
glory and
joy. 1Thessalonians 2:19-20.
4. His
change of purpose regarding his visit to Corinth plus a brief
outline of the gospel (verses 15-21)
1:15 And
in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye
might have a second benefit;
Paul went
to them first in Acts
19:1 and formed the church. This was their first benefit (gain,
good,
profit) in that he taught them and got them saved and so on. After he
leaves,
he then writes to them with 1st Corinthians. Paul then says that he is
planning, and is confident, on going to them again in (1st Corinthians 16:3-7). But he doesn’t make it.
(So when
we get to 2nd Corinthians 13:1, Paul says that he is coming to them a
third
time.
In
summary: He went to them the first time. He was going to them the 2nd
time but he didn’t make it. But he is coming to them the 3rd time.
1:16 And
to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of
Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.
Paul would
leave you then travel North to Macedonia and then return to
Corinth again and then return across the Aegean Sea to Judea.
1:17 When
I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the
things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with
me there
should be yea yea, and nay nay?
Paul says
“Was I joking or being light-hearted when I said these things
about coming to you?” Paul then asks the question “Was it just my flesh
talking? Did I just promise to come to you on the spur of the moment?
Was It
off the top of my head?” You can hear him say under his breath “God
forbid it
was not!” He goes on to say “Look dear Corinthians, my ‘yes’ is a ‘yes’
and my
‘no’ is a ‘no’! I mean what I say and I say what I mean. There was no
half-hearted promise to come to you. I WAS COMING!”
1:18
But as God is true, our word
toward you was not yea and nay.
Let God be
true, that my promise was not a ‘yes-no’ or fifty-fifty.” I
wasn’t being half-hearted when I said I was coming to you.
1:19 For
the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us,
even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him
was yea.
When I,
Paul, and Silvanus and Timotheus, who are my helpers, preached
the gospel to you, we were not half-hearted about it. We were 100%
committed
and 100% sure about what we preached. It was not “Well, you know, if
you
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to save you, he might do it and he
might not.
No, it is a gold edged promise that Christ will, in no way, refuse or
reject
anyone who comes to him to be saved. We are sure of that just as I was
sincere
when I said I would come to you. I said ‘yes’ I was coming and before
God, he
knows that I am not lying.”
1:20
For all the promises of God
in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
When God
promises something, he means 100% yes. Not 98% yes and 2% no.
Paul says “When we say ‘Amen’, we say it in perfect faith and 100%
grateful
adoration, glory and worship to God the Father.”
1:21 Now
he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed
us, is God;
The
Corinthians have been established by God in Christ through Paul. He
has taught them many things on how to live the Christian life and so
on. In
addition God has anointed us all with the Holy Ghost. Our foundations
are firm
as concrete because we are children of God through the Lord Jesus
Christ.
5.
Explanation of his reason for not coming to Corinth (verses 22-24)
1:22 Who
hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our
hearts.
Just like
you seal a glass jar with screw-on lid, God has sealed us.
No-one can steal us from the jar and we can’t get out either. And
inside of us
we have the Holy Ghost which can never leave us or ‘get out the jar’.
We have
eternal security. But, much more than that, Paul uses the example of
buying
something. It’s like someone goes into a shop but they don’t have all
the money
for a certain item. So they put a deposit down of say 5%, 10%
or 50% on
that item they want. Now, the shopkeeper by law, can not sell that item
to
anyone else. The person buying the item is earnest and serious and
determined
to get it so much so, that he has given the shopkeeper some money
to keep
it for him. So they call it an ‘earnest’, because they are, determined
to come
back, pay what is owing and then take it home.
Now God
the Father is earnest with us also. He has put the deposit of
the Holy Ghost in us when we get saved (believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ). We
are his. No-one else can buy us. We are simply waiting for the rapture
(being
caught up), which will happen shortly. As stated before, the best
scripture is
as follows and you should learn it by heart.
16 For the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall
rise first:
17 Then we
which are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we
ever be
with the Lord.
18
Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)
1:23
Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I
came not as yet unto Corinth.
Paul says
“God is my witness and I lie not, that when I first wrote to
you in 1st Corinthians, about your church disorder of factions,
immorality,
incest, lawsuits, meats offered to idols, Lord’s supper abuse,
divisions,
strifes, false apostles, marriage problems, disorderly conduct of
assemblies,
lack of ministry support, self-promotion, women’s role in the church
and
resurrection heresies, I was so upset that I was afraid that I would be
too
harsh on you and give you a very stern talking to (‘rip you to
shreds’). This
is why I didn’t come the second time to you.”
1:24 Not
for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of
your joy: for by faith ye stand.
Paul says
“We (Paul, Silvanus, Timotheus) do not and will not dominate
your faith. Yes, we rule over you (1Timothy
5:17; Hebrews 13:7, 17,
24) but we are not dictators. We want to help your
joy in
the Lord because the joy of the Lord, and the joy that comes from the
Lord, is
our strength (Nehemiah
8:10). You stand because of your faith not your works or our rules
and
regulations (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Questions
to discuss/ things to learn:
1. What
did you learn about in 1st Corinthians?
2. Trust
in the Lord despite the circumstances that you find yourself
in.
3. Don’t
jump to false conclusions
4. Grow up
and be more mature Christians.
5. Stop
listening to false teachers
6. Look to
the Lord in all things and get your eyes off others
PAUL’S
SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER 2
What you
will learn:
1. Paul
continues his reason for not coming direct from Ephesus (verses
1-4)
2. Their
treatment of the man who committed incest (verses 5-11)
3. Paul is
thankful at the news that Titus brought from Corinth about
his first letter (verses 12-17)
1. Paul
continues his reason for not coming direct from Ephesus (verses
1-4)
2:1 But I
determined this with myself, that I would not come again to
you in heaviness.
This was
to be Paul’s second visit to them. He didn’t go. Paul was
unwilling to arrive on their doorstep too soon and grieve them. This
could have
happened if they didn’t deal with the case of incest in the proper
manner. He
had to give them the time to work this out and deal with the man in
question.
He didn’t want to get to Corinth prematurely and before the correct
time. He
didn’t want to get there and rebuke people and throw them out of the
church. He
was wanting them to fix this up themselves – which they did. He wanted
to be a
partaker of their joy in the Lord and have cheerful meetings with them
rather
then disagreements that could have happened.
He didn’t
want to be a ‘wet blanket’ as the saying goes by being ‘heavy’
with them. But Paul was very sad over the sin that happened in the
church
there. And Paul had a heavy feeling in himself about it all.
Paul is
stopped by God in going to them straight away after he sent them
the first letter.
He goes
North to Troas and then Macedonia where he meets Titus in
Macedonia who gives him the good news they had repented.
2:2 For if
I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the
same which is made sorry by me?
Paul says
that if he made them sorry and caused them grief, who would
make him happy? Answer? Nobody. He wanted to have a cheerful get
together with
them all, and not to be correcting and rebuking them
2:3 And I
wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have
sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you
all, that
my joy is the joy of you all.
Paul says
that his joy would come from them being joyful and vice versa.
If they are sorrowful, then he would be sorrowful as well. In fact,
Paul’s joy
are the saints at Corinth.
2:4 For
out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you
with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know
the love
which I have more abundantly unto you.
Sometimes
children misbehave because no-one will correct them. They are
wanting discipline. So it is the same with ministers and Pastors.
People, when
corrected, know that the Pastor cares for them even if they don’t like
it. Now
even with correcting and sternly righting the wrongs that happen in a
church
with acts of discipline, faithful ministers show their love. However,
the
discipline needed for correcting offenders is often hurtful and
grievous to
faithful ministers and is often given with heaviness of heart.
2. Their
treatment of the man who committed incest (verses 5-11)
2:5 But if
any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part:
that I may not overcharge you all.
Paul says
that he is only partly grieved and sorrowful. He says they
were a puffed up church and had not mourned over this incest case
(1Corinians
5:2). But seeing they had fixed up the problem under his previous
instructions
in his first letter to them (Titus had old Paul they had), he wouldn’t
be too
hard on them as a whole congregation. The punishment of being put out
of the
church till the man repented and was humbled, was the clearing action
needed.
2:6
Sufficient to such a man is
this punishment, which was inflicted of many.
The man’s
punishment was just enough and sufficient which was brought
about by the many people of the whole church. They all agreed to do
this.
2:7 So
that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort
him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch
sorrow.
So Paul
says that having put this man out of the church as punishment,
the church should forgive him and comfort him. Charity (love from one
Christian
to another) covers many sins (1Peter
4:8).
Truly
sorrowful people shouldn’t be left to themselves to wallow in their
grief. They shouldn’t be left to fall into despair. This can make you
unfit for
other duties. This is godly sorrow, a sorrow toward God and not sorrow
of the
world. Godly sorrow is good (2 Corinthians 7:10). You know the sort of sorrow
that
people have when they have just been found out? They are just sorry
they got
caught. This is simply worldly sorrow.
2:8
Wherefore I beseech you that
ye would confirm your love toward him.
Paul urges
them as a congregation, to all prove their love to this man.
Confirm =
con + firm. Con = together. Be firm in your love to this man.
Do this together.
2:9 For to
this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of
you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
He wrote
his first epistle to them with a severe tone to 1. Avoid the
necessity for a painful visit (verse 3) 2. To show his special love for
them
(verse 4) 3. To test their obedience in disciplining the man in
question and
know whether they would pass the test. Their faithfulness was proved.
2:10 To
whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any
thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person
of
Christ;
If you
have forgiven the man, then I do too for your sakes. Also for the
sake of Christ and in his name, and in his presence, because I Paul,
and indeed
yourselves, are to be examples of kindness and tender mercy to all
those who
truly repent.
2:11
Lest Satan should get an
advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Another
reason to forgive is so Satan will not get hold of the mind of
the man and drive him to despair, all because you wouldn’t forgive him.
This is
one of the ways that Satan works in separating Christians from other
Christians.
3. Paul is
thankful at the news that Titus brought from Corinth about his
first letter.
2:12
Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a
door was opened unto me of the Lord,
Now in
addition to my not coming to you straight across the sea from
Ephesus, God opened up a door for evangelising when I went North to
Troas to
preach the gospel. People got saved as a result of this.
2:13 I had
no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother:
but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.
2:15 For
we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are
saved, and in them that perish:
2:16 To
the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other
the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
To the
person who gets saved, they have the sweet smell of the Lord
Jesus Christ in their life because he has given them eternal life. To
the
person who will not accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour, all they have
to look
forward to is death, physical death, which becomes a living death in
the fires
of hell. Oh yes, we all live forever – some in heaven but most in hell.
Paul
goes on to say, that apart from the grace of God, he would not be able
to
perform such a duty in his own strength. All our sufficiency comes from
God.
The work is so great but of ourselves we have no strength at all. He is
definitely not capable or sufficient.
2:17 For
we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity,
but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
But we are
not like many of the churches and Pastors which twist and
change the word of God, the holy scriptures. Here he refers to those in
Corinth
that have turned their hearts away from Paul by teaching false and
incorrect
doctrine. These were the Jews that had come into the church and started
whispering lies about Paul. He deals with these liars and fraudsters in
the
next chapter of 2 Corinthians.
Paul has
taught the Corinthian church nothing but the truth in sincerity
before God. He speaks the truth that is to be found in Christ and
Christ alone.
As we shall see, these Jews were saying to the church that they should
start
paying more attention to the law of Moses and all that it commanded
people to
do.
This
happening in the churches today as people who are sympathetic to
Moses and his laws and the feasts of Israel, are urging people to start
acting
out things like the Festival of Booths, the Passover, Pentecost and so
on.
Indeed,
they are saying that keeping the law of Moses give you good
favour in the sight of God. In fact, they are saying that you can lose
your
salvation if you don’t. You know, like the Seventh Day Adventists who
say you
can’t be saved unless you worship on Saturday, which is the Jewish
Sabbath.
These are people who corrupt the word of God. There are the Roman
Catholics
that say you can never have eternal security in Christ. Why? Because
their
Jesus is the little wafer biscuit they eat at the Lord’s supper. They
say it is
the actual, body of Christ. Can you imagine that? Some priest mutters
some
magic words like ‘Abracadabra’ and the bread is supposed to be turned
into the
actual body of Christ. Furthermore, the Pope in Rome says the priest
has the
power to turn the grape juice into the actual blood of Christ! What
blasphemy!
What lies!
Anyhow, as
Paul says, the law of Moses is holy and glorious. However it
is far exceeded and surpassed in glory and holiness with the liberty to
be
found in Christ alone. This is in chapter 3.
************
Questions
to discuss:
1. Do you
have any questions on chapter 1 or chapter 2?
2. What
did you learn in studying 2 Corinthians chapter 2?
PAUL’S
SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER 3
What you
will learn:
1. Paul
makes an apology for seeming to defend himself. Paul does not
need any recommendation (verses 1-3)
2. Paul’s
sufficiency comes from God (verses 4-6)
3. God has
made Paul a minister of the new testament which is to be
found in Christ. This new testament is far more glorious that that
given to
Moses with the ten commandments (verses 7-11)
4. Paul’s
ministry needs no vail upon his face unlike Moses, who had to
wear one, after meeting with God on Mt Sinai (verses 12-13)
5. To this
very day in March 2020, the Jews still have darkened hearts
toward Christ because they are still under the veil of Moses (verses
14-15)
6. However
one day this veil shall be removed off Israel (verses 16-18)
7. Paul’s
purpose in this chapter is to compare the bondage that Moses
stood for against the freedom found in Christ. Paul’s critics and
opposition in
Corinth was coming from some Jews there. They were trying to bring the
Christians back under obeying the law like worshipping on Saturday, not
eating
certain foods, washings and rituals, the feast and celebrations, and
all the
laws, rituals and ceremonies found in the books of Leviticus and
Deuteronomy
that governed the whole lives. Paul said “Christ has done all them on
your
behalf. You have been set free. There is liberty and freedom in
Christ.”
1. Paul
makes an apology for seeming to defend himself.
Paul does
not need any recommendation (verses 1-3)
3:1 Do we
begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others,
epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
Paul
doesn’t have to commend himself to them. He thought it necessary to
protest his sincerity to them, because there were some at Corinth who
were
trying to undermine him and his reputation. Generally when strangers
come into
a church they have with them letters and credentials from others that
recommend
them. Paul treats this as absurd to suppose that he or Timothy should
need such
letters from them or from those at Jerusalem. Paul defends himself by
his being
sincere toward them.
3:2 Ye
are our epistle written in
our hearts, known and read of all men:
But Paul
says if they wanted any such letters, they should look at
themselves. The very name and existence of the Corinthian church was
sufficient
proof enough. Indeed they were written on Paul’s heart and he could
appeal and
refer to them whenever he wanted to in conversation with others. In
fact, they
were known among all men. Nothing is so satisfying or delightful for a
minister
or Pastor, than the success of their ministry with the changed lives of
those
in the church and who work with them.
3:3
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly (obviously)
declared
to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but
with
the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy
tables of
the heart.
The
Corinthians were themselves were the letters of recommendation. They
were written on his heart. Christ was the founder and Paul was the
minister who
looked after them. The Corinthians were the letters themselves, not
written on
paper with ink, or engraved upon stone, but were written on Christ’s
heart and
Paul’s heart. They were not written upon stone like the laws of Moses,
but
written by the finger of God, as it were, upon Paul’s heart. He utterly
refuses
to take any credit for this but gives all the glory to God.
2. Paul’s
sufficiency comes solely from God (verses 4-6)
3:4 And
such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
Paul says
that the trust he has in all this is toward God through
Christ. That is in the direction to God all because of Jesus Christ.
3:5 Not
that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of
ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
All true
pastors, teachers and preachers know that their strength,
effectiveness and success is all of God and his grace and his mercy.
Only what
God can give will make us sufficient.
3:6 Who
also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of
the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit
giveth
life.
The new
testament is to be found in Christ. The letter refers to the
letters on the table of the two stones that Moses brought down from the
mountain. These had the law on them. These were the ten commandments.
Trying to
act out the ten commandments to impress God can’t be done. You see, the
law was
given not to save us, or indeed the Jews under the old testament, but
to show
we are sinners and cannot keep God’s high standards. God did this
deliberately
to show how pathetic we really are in his sight. Knowing that a man
is not
justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,
even we
have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith
of
Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law
shall no
flesh be justified. Galatians 2:16
Wherefore
the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might
be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer
under a
schoolmaster. Galatians 3:24-25
Do you
know what a schoolmaster says all the time? “You are not good
enough! You can do better!” So the law says “You can’t be good enough.
You are
not good enough. You need the goodness of Christ”. Now when we believe
on the
Lord Jesus Christ to be our Saviour, we have the Spirit put into us in
the form
of the Holy Ghost. So the Spirit gives life.
3. God has
made Paul a minister of the new testament which is to be
found in Christ. This new testament is far more glorious that that
given to
Moses with the ten commandments (verses 7-11)
3:7 But if
the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones,
was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly
behold the
face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be
done
away:
The two
tables of stone with the laws of God written on them, were God’s
way of ministering to Israel under the old testament. Now because God
is pure,
sinless and perfect, his laws are pure, perfect and glorious. No-one
can
possibly keep them. They couldn’t even stand the glory of them. That’s
why when
Moses came down off Mt Sinai after having spent time with God alone,
Moses’
face shone like a very bright light that blinded the eyes. That’s why
he had to
put a cloth (veil) over his face, because they could not bear to look
on his
face. The countenance of Moses was his face. But this glory of God’s
laws that
were reflected in Moses’ face was to be replaced by the glory of
Christ. Why?
Christ was better than the law because he fulfilled every demand of it.
He beat
it. He conquered it. He subdued it as a man of flesh. Christ came to
fulfil the
law in the flesh, such that we can have his victory of
‘beating/fulfilling‘ the
law, put into our account.
3:8 How
shall not the
ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
Our soul
gets saved and our spirit becomes born again by God’s Spirit.
So God’s Spirit (God’s Spirit always has a capital “S”) ministers to
our spirit
(our spirit always has a small “s”). See the difference?
Yes, God’s
Spirit that ministers to us in the form of the Holy Ghost,
comes inside of us and attends and cares for our little human spirit.
“This is
a glorious thing” says Paul.
3:9 For if
the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the
ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
Paul says
the law was glorious. Paul says that the law which was given
to condemn us and show us we are sinners, was glorious. Why? It shows
that we
are not God. God’s law are glorious. The mere fact that we can’t keep
them
doesn’t mean they aren’t glorious.
Now, Paul
says that having Christ’s right standing with God, his
righteousness, is more glorious than the law. Why? Christ was better
than the
law. It couldn’t and didn’t defeat him. Christ not only defeated the
law. We
say he fulfilled it. Christ did everything that the law wanted of him.
So
Christ’s righteousness in fulfilling the law is more glorious than the
law.
3:10 For
even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect,
by reason of the glory that excelleth.
God’s law
had no glory compared to Christ’s glory. Christ glory exceeded
and surpassed what the law demanded.
3:11 For
if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which
remaineth is glorious.
The law
was put aside or done away with when Christ fulfilled it. The
law was glorious, but what was left was Christ’s glory of fulfilling
the law.
The condemnation of the law (which was glorious) was done away with
when Christ
did what it demanded. Therefore what Christ did was more glorious than
the law.
4. Paul’s
ministry needs no veil upon his face unlike Moses, who had to
wear a veil over his face after meeting with God on Mt Sinai (verses
12-13)
3:12
Seeing then that we have
such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
So Paul
doesn’t have to cover up like Moses. Paul speaks very plainly.
Good ministers do this. Bad minsters don’t. They talk in complicated
ways and
no-one can understand them. Because what Christ has done is open to all
and
very plain to see, we can tell people exactly where they will be after
they
die. God’s love is Jesus Christ. Have him as Saviour and you will go to
heaven.
If you don’t, then God must send you to hell because you have
unforgiven sins
that have not been washed away by the blood of Christ.
3:13 And
not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children
of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is
abolished:
No matter
how hard they tried in keeping the law, they could only have
temporary forgiveness of sins by the blood of animals. The old
testament Jew
could not see Jesus Christ in the future. They could not see a time
when they
would have eternal security once and for all, by the blood of Christ.
Their
eyes were blocked. Moses face blocked out the light of the law that
made his
face shine. Christ is called the Light that lighteth every man that
comes into
the world (John 1:9).
5. To this
very day in March 2020, the unsaved Jews still have darkened
hearts toward Christ
because
they are still under the veil of Moses (verses 14-15)
3:14 But
their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same
vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is
done away
in Christ.
As the
saying goes “The old is in the new revealed and the new is in the
old concealed.” Jesus Christ is hidden in the old testament but is
revealed in
the new testament.
The modern
day Jew still have blocked and blinded minds. The old veil of
trying to impress God with their keeping the law (which they could
never do)
needs to be removed from them. It is a spiritual blindness.
3:15 But
even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their
heart.
Because
most Jews today have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour,
a veil is on their heart and they have blinded minds that will not
accept the
fact that they need Jesus Christ’s perfect keeping of the law put into
their
account, so that they may get to heaven. They are still with Moses who
has a
veil over his face.
6. However
one day this veil shall be removed off Israel (verses 16-18)
3:16
Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be
taken away.
Now
sometime in the 7 year tribulation, Israel will have their blindfold
over their eyes and minds, taken away by God himself. It won’t the
result of
their efforts either. It will be by remote control from God. He will
just do it
one day when the time is right. And I will pour upon the house of
David, and
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced,
and they
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be
in
bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. Zechariah 12:10
An all
Israel shall be saved in that day.
3:17
Now the Lord is that Spirit:
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
The Lord
Jesus Christ is God. God the Father is God. The Holy Ghost,
which is the indwelling Spirit of God, God as well. We are no longer
under the
bondage and the curse of the law to keep it. We are set free. The law
has done
it’s work. Without the law, we would not know we are sinners and we
could not
be saved by Christ. So the law was wonderful to reveal sin in us that
Christ
could save us and set us free. Give us liberty.
3:18 But
we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the
Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by
the
Spirit of the Lord.
The more
we clean up our lives by obeying what God wants from us today,
the more we see clearly who Christ was, is and shall be. We are being
changed
every day from glory to glory and hopefully becoming more like Christ.
The Jew
in the old testament in the desert only saw the glory of God in the
cloud that
led them around and the fire at night. But we have, as it were, a more
clear
picture of Christ as in a mirror. The more we examine ourselves and
prove we
are in the faith, we are changed from glory into more glory (2
Corinthians
13:5; Philippians 2:12).
Question:
“What did you learn from this chapter?”
PAUL’S
SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER
4
What
you will learn:
1.
Paul outlines the glory of his gospel ministry
(verses 1-6)
2.
This preaching of the gospel sustains the hearts
and minds of Christ’s ministers through all their weaknesses and trials
(verses
7-15)
3.
This is especially true by their faith in things
that are unseen (verses 16-18)
4.
People who are still trying to get saved by
works are still under the works of the old testament law. The ministry
that
Paul sets out in this chapter is as follows: “You are sinners and don’t
deserve
to be saved. You can’t earn your salvation by doing the works of the
law
because God’s standard is 100% perfection. Just supposing you could
keep the
outward aspects of the law, it still wouldn’t be right, because God
demands
that you have a love of the law and a desire of the heart to fulfil it.
Not
just going through the outward motions. Therefore no-one can keep the
law. But
God will save you if you come to him as a sinner and trust that Jesus
Christ
not only kept the law on your behalf but also he had the right heart
attitude
to it because he loved it. You can trust in the perfect work of Jesus
and not
your own works.”
1.
Paul outlines the glory of his gospel ministry
(verses 1-6)
4:1
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we
have received mercy, we faint not;
Paul
has the ministry of reconciliation which means
that he brings people to know Jesus Christ. He brings them together. He
introduces the sinner to Christ. “Dear sinner, have you ever met
Christ? Why
don’t I tell you about him and what he has done for you. Why don’t you
shake
his hand, become friends by having him as your Saviour. Yes, only Jesus
can
save you from God’s wrath of sending you to hell because you are a
sinner.”
That is what is called the ministry of reconciliation. And all
things are of
God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us
the ministry of reconciliation; 2 Corinthians 5:18
Now
we have been given God’s mercy and been saved,
we will work for him. We will not faint because of the task ahead of us
with
this ministry.
4:2
But have renounced the hidden things of
dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God
deceitfully;
but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's
conscience in the sight of God.
False
teachers are dishonest, they are cunning and
crafty, and they destroy God’s words and their meanings, found in the
King
James Bible, The Authorized Bible. Such as: 1. They add words 2. They
subtract
words 3. They remove a verse form the Bible 4. They change and
substitute words
for others in the Bible. These false Bibles are the NIV, the NASB, the
Good
News and so on. In other words, there are over 300 Bibles that differ
from The
King James Bible. All these other so called ‘bibles’ have been
corrupted and
most of them come out of Rome and their scholars. Paul says “We will
clearly
show you by our actions that we have the truth. We will not lie to you.
We will
tell you, that you don’t have to mix the works of the law of the old
testament
with Christ having completed and fulfilled these works for you on your
behalf.”
The minister has to “provide things honest in the sight of all
men.” (Romans
12:17). Let people think what they like about you, but be
honest and
genuine. Don’t pretend, no “put-ons’, no calculated and controlled
speeches to
produce the right impression or get the desired results. DON’T BE A
HYPOCRITE.
4:3
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them
that are lost:
The
question we often ask ourselves is this “Why
don’t’ all people get saved?” Answer: “They are lost because of the
reason
found in the next verse.
4:4
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the
minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel
of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Satan
blinds the minds people. How does he do this? Easy. He whispers in
their ears and says things like “You aren’t as bad as the next person.
They are
really bad sinners. They need to get saved before you do.” Or he says
“Look,
you have done a lot of good things for others. Surely this will impress
God and
he’ll let you into heaven.” Or Satan will say “You are a politician and
have
helped many people with passing good laws for them.” Or “You have given
a lot
of money to help others” You have fasted twice a week.” Does this
remind you of
anyone? That’s right the Pharisee.
11
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,
God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give
tithes of
all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off,
would not
lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast,
saying, God
be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his
house
justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself
shall be
abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke
18:11-14 (KJB).
There
was another man wasn’t there? The publican
(tax-gatherer. He collected taxes for a living). Satan blinds the minds
of
people by “puffing them up”. You are a really good person. There are a
lot of
others worse than you. You are top of the tree.” And so on.
But
as the Bible says “All the good things we do
are nothing but filthy rags in God’s sight” (Isaiah
64:6). Satan blinds us to how 100% perfect Christ is. The glorious
gospel
of Christ is this “You are a sinner, blind to your own sin but Christ
was perfect.
To get into heaven you must have Christ’s works put into your account.”
It’s
like a bank account you have at the bank, however this is God’s bank
and you
must have a spiritual account with him. Now in that spiritual account,
when God
looks into it, he must see “Ah good. This man has Christ’s works in it.
This
man has Christ’s works as a substitute instead of his own. Well done my
son,
please come into heaven.”
You
see Satan works on the flesh and on the mind
and says “Your works are better than Christ’s. You can reject what he
has done
for you. You have done enough and in your heart you really are a good
person
even though you sin and are not perfect.” As the scriptures say For
we dare
not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that
commend
themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not wise. 2 Corinthians 10:12 (KJV)
4:5
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus
the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
Why
do ministers want to preach about themselves
all the time? They shouldn’t. Go back to the gospels and preach Jesus –
his
life, his works, what he did, his perfect works, his death, his burial,
his
resurrection and so on. Paul says we are your helpers and servants for
the sake
of Jesus. In other words as he has saved us and guided us, we are here
to be
likewise for you.
4:6
For God, who commanded the light to shine out
of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the
knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Christ
appeared physically on the earth and was the
bright shining light.
The
people that walked in darkness have seen a
great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon
them hath
the light shined. Isaiah
9:2. Israel
have seen Jesus Christ in the
flesh. They were in darkness and Jesus was sent to them as a bright
shining
light. In fact, the star that came from the East and guided the wise
men to the
manger showed that Christ was the light that had come unto, and onto,
the earth
(Matthew 2:2).
Now
even as we know no more Christ in the flesh Wherefore
henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known
Christ
after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 2 Corinthians 5:16, we can have Christ shine
in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost as Christ now sits in heaven at the right hand
of God
the Father (Hebrews 10:12; 12:2).
Christ not only is the Light that lighteth every one that is born (we
all have
conscience), but for those who are saved, we have him in our hearts. He
is the
treasure in earthen vessels.
Christ
is the brightness of God’s glory as the
scriptures say Who (Jesus) being the brightness
of his
glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things
by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down on
the right hand of the Majesty on high; Hebrews
1:3 (King James Bible)
2.
This preaching of the gospel sustains the hearts
and minds of Christ’s ministers
through
all their weaknesses and trials (verses
7-15)
4:7
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
What is
this treasure we have in ourselves? Our physical bodies are the
vessels made for the earth. Adam was formed from the earth and the dust
(Gen
2:7). It is Christ himself in our hearts. It is the Holy Ghost in
us. It is
God himself in us. These three are one. For there are three that
bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these
three are one.
1 John 5:7. Furthermore, In the beginning
was the
Word (Jesus Christ), and the Word was with God, and the
Word
was God. John 1:1 (KJV).
Many
people go through life ‘under their own steam’
as the saying goes. They get through life under their own power. They
won’t let
God control their life and be as a branch that gets its life from the
tree (John
15:4-5).
4:8
We are troubled on every side, yet not
distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
4:9
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but
not destroyed;
4:10
Always bearing about in the body the dying of
the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in
our body.
What
we have here, is a comparison between what is
happening on the outside of the body in the flesh and the state of the
treasure
on the inside. In the natural and the physical, there was all sorts of
trials
and tribulations, but the Lord was on the inside taking care of them. As
Paul says I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I,
but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (KJV).You can prasie God
through all the
mess you are going through at the moment on the outside, but not
complain and
murmur.
4:11
For we which live are alway delivered unto
death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made
manifest in
our mortal flesh.
As
Paul says elsewhere As it is written, For thy
sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the
slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through
him
that loved us. Romans 8:36-37. Victory comes through dying
to self.
4:12
So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
So
Paul summarizes by saying, that all the trouble
that he had been through back in verse 8-11, was for the benefit of the
Corinthians. It was to help the spiritual life of them and work for
their good.
4:13
We having the same spirit of faith, according
as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also
believe, and
therefore speak;
This
is Psalm
116:10. Paul says that although some may be of weaker faith, it is
still
the same Holy Ghost, himself, that works his power in us. As David said
in the
old testament, that he spoke as he believed, then Paul says he can do
no better
than follow David in that what Paul believes he speaks. I don’t believe
one
thing and then speak another.
4:14
Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus
shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
Just
as Christ was raised from the dead by God the
Father, when the Lord comes for us in the rapture (1Thessalonians 4:16-18) it will be just the same.
Those
that have already died as Christians (they are called dead in Christ)
shall be
brought back to life and we all shall meet the Lord in the air.
4:15
For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant
grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of
God.
Paul
says that everything that has happened to him
is for the sake of the Corinthians and they can then grow further in
the Lord.
They then can give the Lord more thanks for this. The more people that
give the
Lord thanks, the more glory God gets.
3.
This is especially true by their faith in things
that are unseen (verses 16-18)
4:16
For which cause we faint not; but though our
outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
Isn’t
that true! We all die eventually from our
bodies rotting away and slowing down. Our hearts eventually stop
beating. But
our souls never die. They live forever. What is our soul? It’s like a
person in
car that crashes. The car may be destroyed but the person gets out and
walks
away. This is a good description of the soul. The real you is not your
body,
but your soul. That is why we say that our soul gets saved and our
spirit
becomes born again. We have a new spirit. Do you know anyone like that?
Of
course. Before they received Jesus Christ as their Saviour, they were
grumpy,
depressed and angry. But God gave them a new spirit. Their old spirit
became
born again, just like a little baby that is happy all the time.
4:17 For
our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us
a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
Paul calls
everything that happens to us down here as a light
affliction. Sort of like a mosquito bite that goes for a second. But
how we
handle it, is the thing that is important. Whatever you can do for the
Lord
down here which includes a sweet spirit, that no matter what happens
you are
giving thanks to the Lord for the power he has put in you. In spite of
your
personal difficulties, did you work for the Lord? These are the rewards
in
heaven that await you.
4:18
While we look not at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are
seen are
temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
We
keep our eyes on Jesus and he is in heaven right
now. We say “Dear Jesus I am coming home one day to be with you. I can
hardly wait.”
‘Temporal’
means ‘not lasting long’ or ‘temporary’
or ‘short lived’. What happens on earth goes quick but heaven is
forever.
So
we don’t dwell on our bodies as they will not
last forever. They rot. As they say “Muscles come and go, but flab
lasts forever.”
The
real you is your soul and that is not what you
can see.
PAUL’S
SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER 5
What you
will learn:
1. Paul says
that hope is the chief support of the
preacher of the gospel of Christ. Paul gives the reasons why they did
not faint
under their afflictions.
These
reasons were their expectations, desire and assurance of happiness
after death (verses 1-5)
2. Paul then
tells them that they can have the same
comfort as well (verses 6-8)
3. He gives
another reason to help them in their
service for the Lord (verses 9-11)
4. Paul then
makes an apology for seeming to commend
himself and gives a good reason for his zeal and diligence (verses
12-15)
5. Paul then
mentions two things that are necessary
for our living in Christ – regeneration and reconciliation (verses
16–21)
Paul
reminds those that oppose him in Corinth and the Jews, that their
bodies are temporary dwellings for the Holy Ghost. Paul says it is far
better
to be with Christ in heaven. This
is a warning to those
who aren’t saved and are just pretending to be Christians and secondly,
words
of encouragement to those that long for their home in heaven.
1. Paul says
that hope is the chief support of the
preacher of the gospel of Christ. Paul gives the reasons why they did
not faint
under their afflictions.
These
reasons were their expectations, desire and assurance of happiness
after death (verses 1-5)
5:1
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands,
eternal in
the heavens.
Paul calls
his body a tabernacle. Now a tabernacle is a temporary
dwelling. A tabernacle is a place in which a person lives for a while.
The old
testament uses the word tabernacle for the Jews in the desert.
This was the tent they easily put up and took down before they moved
on. This
was the short term stay for God in the desert. This is where he dwelt
for short
times. It was a temporary place to live for God. The Jews worshipped
God in the
tabernacle in the desert.
Christian’s
bodies are tabernacles for the Holy Ghost. Our body dies and
rots. It is where the Holy Ghost lives – in us for a short time until
the soul
goes to heaven. Paul reminds them that the tent in the desert was made
with
hands and it didn’t last. But Paul tells them that our real home is in
heaven
and that our bodies are merely temporary places for the Lord to live in
till we
get home to heaven.
5:2
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed
upon with our house which is from heaven:
Yes, it’s
like Christians are like two people in the same body. We have
to live down here on earth but we are citizens of another country which
is
heaven. The body of flesh we have is a heavy burden because of all the
sin and
the corruptions we still have in us. This makes us complain. Paul says
that
Christians groan with desire wanting the happiness of another life. For
a
Christian, death is a blessing to look forward to, when we will pass
into a
glorious state in heaven. This is what prayer is. We talk to God who
lives in
this glorious country about which he keeps reminding us.
5:3
If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
Paul says
that being naked or without clothes is not a good thing. It is
not desirable for sinners. Just as Adam and Eve, when they sinned, God
made them wear clothes to cover up their nakedness. So the real
Christian
has two sets of clothes – one is the body down here, and all the while,
we are
already clothed with our house in heaven. God has many mansions for us
to live
in heaven.
5:4
For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened:
not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality
might be
swallowed up of life.
But not
only Christians groan in our temporary home
in our earthly bodies but the whole of God’s creation. For we know
that the
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Romans
8:22
For those
that go to hell, they will have been
unclothed. They will not have the earnest of the Holy Ghost protecting
them. You
see, while the unsaved are still alive, they are protected in a way.
That is
until they die. They will then be unclothed. For Christians, we have
nothing to
worry about. While we are still alive here on earth, we will not be in
hell.
After we die we will be in heaven because we are clothed with the Holy
Ghost,
and God the Father takes us to heaven, because he has put a down
payment on and
in us – the Holy Ghost.
5:5
Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who
also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
“Wrought”
is a word that means ‘made’ or ‘fashioned’ or ‘beaten into
shape’. Men who work with iron make fancy and delicate patterns out of
metal.
The end product is a wrought iron piece of metal. Now, all those who
are going to
heaven, the Christians, are like metal and God works on us down here on
earth
doesn’t he? We are being fashioned into shape. God calls us stones that
must be
made fit for his purpose for his building.
Now only
God can do this, separate and save our soul from our body, and
beat out all the corruptions and sin that still live in the body.
The
‘earnest’, as we have discussed previously, is the down payment that
God has placed in us with the Holy Ghost. The present grace and
comforts of the
Holy Ghost are earnests of the everlasting grace and comforts that we
will have
in heaven.
2. Paul then
tells them that they can have the same
comfort as well (verses 6-8)
5:6
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst
we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
Paul
reminds them that wile they live here on earth, they are strangers
that temporarily dwell in their earthly home, a tabernacle. But God is
with us
here by his Holy Ghost that lives in us. Although we cannot see God and
be with
him as we would like, he is with us.
5:7
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
We are not
seeing God face to face yet, but we know he is there because
he has given us faith to believe. But when we are in heaven, we shall
see as we
are seen (1Peter 1:8)
5:8
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent
from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Paul says
“I know you will all agree with me, that you would rather be
with the Lord in heaven and not down here on earth. You would rather
leave your
body and go to heaven and be with God than to stay here on earth with
all it’s
troubles. Good bye to this temporary tabernacle!”
3. He gives
another reason to help them in their
service for the Lord (verses 9-11)
5:9
Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we
may be accepted of him.
So we work
on ourselves down here, that we might be acceptable and
pleasing to the Lord.
5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body,
according to
that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Yes,
Christians will appear also before the Christ at his seat of
judgment for rewards.
5:11
Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade
men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made
manifest in
your consciences.
Now this
should produce terror in Christians, that we make sure that the
work we do for the Lord is what he wants done and not our own plans. We
convince others of this. Just as we are visible and obvious (manifest)
to the
Lord in all these things, Paul hopes that we will be a good witness to
other
Christians, and indeed to the unsaved.
4. Paul then
makes an apology for seeming to commend
himself and gives a good reason for his zeal and diligence (verses
12-15)
5:12
For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give
you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to
answer them
which glory in appearance, and not in heart.
Paul makes
an apology for seeming to commend himself and his fellow
labourers. The true reason was to put a reason, and a protest, in his
critics
mouths to stop them. There were those who gloried in appearances only,
so Paul
was giving all the reason not to look on the surface. So the best
argument
would be to have people convinced in their own consciences and in their
own
minds, when they are accused and made fun of (vilified). They would be
able to
give glory to God from their hearts.
5:13
For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or
whether we be sober, it is for your cause.
Paul’s
accusers were treating him as some sort of madman. He was showing
too much zeal and enthusiasm over what he was saying. Now, when someone
get
angry, or excited or worked up over something, it’s like there is two
of them.
People say “Calm down will you? This is not your normal self!” So it’s
like
there are two people – a person with two personalities as it were. This
is what
is called “being beside yourself”. It’s like another person jumps out
of you
with all this zeal or anger or excitement. There seems to be two of
you.
Now Paul
says “Look, I can’t help this. If this is the case it’s from
God. Paul says “If it looks like I’m a madman, then so be it. I’m
actually not,
but if you want to believe it, it’s from God for your benefit and good.
To be
sober is to be ‘calm and normal’ in the eyes of others. It’s like when
people
have too much alcohol to drink, they are not sober anymore, and their
personality changes and they ‘become another person’. People say “You
are a
nicer person when you are sober.’ Anyhow, Paul says it is for their
good and
learning that he is like this because it comes from God.
Paul uses
both approaches with his churches depending on the situations.
Many times he uses calm reason and other times much zeal and fervour,
depending
on what the Lord wanted to come out.
5:14
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus
judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
Paul says
that his behaviour was under the constraint (the control) of
Christ. Christ’s love he showed for us, in dying on our behalf to take
God’s
punishment for our sin, will have this effect on us.
Paul says
we judge, that means we consider and ponder and come to the
following conclusion. Because Christ died for all, that meant all were
dead in
trespasses and sins. When Adam sinned, sin was passed down to all. Sort
of like
when a virus hits a computer, this virus is then passed onto all other
computers. So if all weren’t dead in trespasses and sins then Christ
didn’t
need to die for all. But he did! All were dead in sin because of Adam.
5:15
And that he died for all, that they which live should
not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them,
and rose
again.
“They
which live” means those that get saved. So of course, if you are
saved, you will not live for your plans, but live unto Christ. Christ
saved you
from hell, he owns you therefore you live for him and to him. He rose
again and
went to heaven. This means that is where we will be too. We have been
baptised
into Christ by the Holy Ghost – not water baptism. (1 Corinthians 12:13).
5. Paul then
mentions two things that are necessary
for our living in Christ – regeneration and reconciliation (verses
16–21)
5:16
Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh:
yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth
know we
him no more.
This means
we do not own anything of this world, and are not affected by
any one in this world – in the flesh. We are not affected by this world
but we
live above it. Christ is in our hearts and the world is below our feet.
Now
although we have known Christ in the flesh, we know him no more. What
does this
mean? Simple, Christ in the flesh was a Jew who came to fulfil the
works of the
old Testament laws on our behalf. We absolutely thank him for that. We
are
eternally grateful that he did, because by so doing, he was perfect and
never
sinned. Now just as the Passover lamb had to be without defect for
sacrifice,
then Christ became our Passover lamb before God and was killed for our
benefit.
So his
time on earth was to show he was the Son of God and fit to be the
lamb on the cross that turned away God’s wrath toward us.
So we
don’t follow Christ the man anymore, as he was a Jew doing Jewish
things. We know Christ in heaven as our Saviour.
5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Being in
Christ we are new creatures. (We are not yet new
creations though. We become new creations when we lose this body and go
to
heaven after we die or in the rapture).
Becoming
born again in our spirit because our soul has been saved, makes
us new creatures. This is called being regenerated.
5:18
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to
himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation;
Because we
now have peace with God and no longer under his wrath because
we are unforgiven sinners, we are reconciled to God. In addition, we
can now
witness to others that they may become reconciled to God as well, by
trusting
on the Lord Jesus Christ as well. We can now reconcile others to God.
5:19
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
committed unto
us the word of reconciliation.
“To wit”
is a legal term used by lawyers in courts of law. Have you
heard of the phrase “keep your wits about you?” This means don’t be
stupid and
dull but be alert. Use knowledge and wisdom. “Wit” is a shortened form
of the
word “wisdom” ie wit-dom. Be sharp, be alert, watch out, be of full
knowledge.
So Paul
says, to your wisdom and knowledge (your wits), we know that
Christ died for the whole world that it might be reconciled (brought
back to
him as one.) It’s like 2 groups of people who are opposed to each
other, so
someone steps in and tries to bring them back together as one group. So
here
were, separated from Christ, so he comes down and pays God’s penalty
for our
sin, in order to bring us back to God the Father.
Christ
took our sins (trespasses) out of our spiritual bank accounts and
put his right standing with God in our accounts instead.
We are
reconciled to God that we may then reconcile other because of
Christ.
We have
the Word (Jesus Christ himself) and his words (the Bible) and
word (the Bible) to bring back people to God the Father so they don’t
go to
hell forever.
5:20
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God
did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled
to God.
An
‘ambassador’ is someone who represents another person. We represent
Christ in this world. We are his ambassadors. We are his ministers to
openly
proclaim and preach God’s terms of mercy as found in Christ and what he
did for
the whole world, and to persuade them to comply and agree with the
terms. “Have
Christ as your Saviour or you will burn in hell forever.’
God
entreats you through us, to come back to him.
We do this
and ask you to be reconciled with God.
5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Christ was
made sin for us, but he did no sin, knew
no sin and thought no sin. He was sinless. He was innocent but he went
to the
cross to pay the penalty for our sin. That is love. Who would lay down
his life
for another if they were guilty. Would you for a mass murderer lay down
your
life?
So the
judge and executioner gets out of his chair
and tells the guilty prisoner “You can go free even though you did the
crime.”
The judge then goes to the gas chamber and gives up his own life.
So here it
is – Christ takes all that God would
send us to hell for, and Christ puts his right standing that he has
with God,
in it’s place. It’s like a bank account – Christ puts his goodness into
our
bank.
PAUL’S
SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER 6
What you
will learn:
1. Paul gives
an account of his general ministry outlines the methods and
conditions of an apostolic ministry
(verses
1-10)
2. Paul
appeals to the Corinthians to return his affection and separate
from evil (verses 11-18)
1. Paul
outlines the methods and conditions of an apostolic ministry
(verses
1-10)
6:1
We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that
ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
Paul says
“Look we are all in the same boat and we beseech (be seeking
you) that you really are saved. Are you? Or are you just pretending to
be
saved. If you are saved, we hope that you are doing something for the
Lord and
that your salvation has not been for nothing.”
6:2
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and
in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the
accepted
time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
Now this
verse comes from the old testament where
God said to Israel
Thus saith
the LORD, In an acceptable time have I
heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will
preserve
thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the
earth, to
cause to inherit the desolate heritages; Isaiah
49:8.
God says
to Israel “Look, I have heard you, I have
saved you, I will keep you, because I have a covenant (an agreement)
with you.
What I now want from you is some action. I want you to inherit the
earth and
establish yourselves in the earth.”
So God,
through Paul, says the same thing to the
Christians at Corinth. “Look, I have saved you, I have helped you, and
I will
keep you forever. This is my testament to you. Now, just like when you
got
saved and I helped you, let the time now, be like then. We don’t have
tomorrow.
We don’t know where we will be. Now is the time that I want the
following to be
put into practice by you Corinthians. As co-workers with me (God) I
want you,
just like Israel in the old testament, to establish yourselves in the
earth
with the following instructions in verses 3-10. You won’t be like
Israel that
will take over the physical world and make war with nations, but as
Christians,
the following verses outline the war that you will fight.”
6:3
Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not
blamed:
Mind your
manners as Christians. Bring no disrepute on Christ because of
what you do. Do not damage the reputation of Christ. Don’t damage the
reputation of the ministry as it is Christ’s ministry.
6:4
But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers
of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
Let us
first prove ourselves to Christ and let us prove ourselves in the
eyes of others that watch us. We’ll need a lot of patience when we
suffer being
afflicted by others and things and circumstances, and when we need
things like
food and shelter, and when we are distressed.
6:5
In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in
watchings, in fastings;
‘Tumults’
are riots and unruly crowds.
In
‘watchings’ means that a Christian should watch his words, actions,
thoughts, companions and friends and his heart. Also to watch out for
wrong
doctrine that would enter the church.
6:6
By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness,
by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
‘Pureness’
means not to be attached to the world and to be separated.
The world and its ways can contaminate and infect.
Get all
the ‘knowledge’ that you can from the Bible with correct
doctrine
Be led by
the Holy Ghost who agrees with the word of God. Obey the word
of God and you will be led by the Holy Ghost.
‘Unfeigned’
means genuine or real. Some people are two faced and are
friends when they are with you but talk behind your back. They will
tell you
they love you but they don’t really.
6:7
By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour
of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
By ‘the
word of truth’ which is the Bible. The armour of righteousness
as in Ephesians 6:13.
6:8
By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report:
as deceivers, and yet true;
By ‘honour
and dishonour’ means you will have people who love and
respect you in your ministry and those who don’t. Just be careful about
who
gives you honour. Be discerning.
6:9
As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold,
we live; as chastened, and not killed;
Don’t go
looking for publicity. People get to know who you are. As dying
– yes, the outward man perishes but the inward man is renewed day by
day. Yes,
God will chasten you (not punish you) but correct you to get back on
the right
path.
6:10
As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making
many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
You will
have heaviness of heart sometimes. But the joy from and of the
Lord is our strength. You make people rich in the word and
understanding –
these are the real riches. Having money is not being rich. Yes, right
now we
are heirs with Christ. He owns everything and so do we. We have eternal
life
and that is all that matters.
2. Paul
appeals to the Corinthians to return his affection and separate
from evil (verses 11-18)
6:11
O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart
is enlarged.
Paul was
telling them that his mouth was open to them. This means he was
telling the truth and being completely honest with them. His heart was
enlarged
in that he loved them very very much. His heart was open to them.
6:12
Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in
your own bowels.
A ‘strait
jacket’ is one that holds and restricts movement. The person
can’t run away or throw his arms about. Paul says that he loved them
but they
are having a hard time loving him. They felt controlled and restricted
by Paul
but Paul says “No. It is you that are causing your own problems with
me. I am
honest with you and tell you the truth, but this causes you to get all
tight in
yourselves. You are putting yourself in your own strait jacket. The
strait
jacket is of your own making.” When we speak of the bowels of a ship we
talk
about the inside of the ship. They were twisted and tight inside of
themselves
and their feelings for Paul were narrow and bitter. They could find no
love for
Paul as they should have.
6:13
Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my
children,) be ye also enlarged.
A
‘recompence’ is simply being paid back. If someone owes you money they
are to recompence you, that is, pay you back.
There was
no room in their hearts to love Paul. Paul had a large heart
for them and all he wants in return is for his spiritual children to
love him
back in the same way.
Paul
speaks to them as his children, he say that he wants them to
enlarge their hearts toward him, that is to find in themselves the same
love
that he has for them.
6:14
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion
hath light with darkness?
Paul says
“Don’t hang around with unbelievers.” Like two cows that get
yoked together to pull a cart. Don’t be that much joined to them. These
are
Catholics, Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, people who pretend to be
Christians, Hindus and so on. They have nothing to offer you. They are
not
saved. They will bring you back under the works of the law for your
salvation
and to maintain your salvation. Two cannot walk together unless they be
agreed
(Amos
3:3)
6:15
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part
hath he that believeth with an infidel?
Paul sums
it up with the following:
9
I wrote
unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
10 Yet not altogether
with the
fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or
with
idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
11 But now I have
written unto you
not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a
fornicator, or
covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an
extortioner; with
such an one no not to eat.
12 For what have I to do
to judge
them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are
without God
judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. 1 Corinthians 5:9-12,13
Now in
this world you will have to work with unsaved
people, buy from them, talk with them. Put it this way, you can get so
separated from unsaved people that you have no contact with anyone. No,
you
will mix with all sorts. Complete separation is not possible not
desirable.
What you
want to avoid is being joined to someone
or group of people that that will cause you to sin. Furthermore, you
want to
avoid all ecumenical church services with people who seem to
‘christian’ but
they are not.
6:16
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?
for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell
in
them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people.
6:17
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,
saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
6:18
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons
and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
When you
know what you believe as Christians, this is called having good
doctrine, you can stand firm in the Lord and go to the Bible to show
them what
you believe. That is why Bible study is so important.
As
Christians, we have no water baptisms, no church memberships, no
speaking in so called tongues and so on. Refer to The Statement of
beliefs of
the King James Bible church for further information.
Up
to Chapters 1 to 6 at this time.
*******************
Harley
Hitchcock
www.
AustralianBibleMinistries
.com
Australian
Bible Ministries, PO Box
5058 Mt. Gravatt East 4122 Qld, Australia
www.AustralianBibleMinistries.com