2 Corinthians 4:11

2 Corinthians 4:11 says, 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.  This seems to be about as far removed from the concept that God wants us happy and successful as we can get.  Paul said that we are delivered unto death for Christ's sake.  When we begin to view following Christ as a means of material blessings, we are not following what the gospel demands.  We are to live for the glory of Christ.  Verse twelve adds, So then death worketh in us, but life in you.  I believe that Paul was saying that if those with him and he himself died for their faith it would be so that others might come to know life through Christ.  We must be willing to die to self so that we may effectively proclaim the gospel. Verse thirteen continues, 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;  All followers of Christ have the same spirit of faith and are called to witness for Christ.  The sharing of the gospel is not reserved for a select few but is the responsibility of each believer.  We all have the same spirit of faith and the same Holy Spirit living in us and empowering us.  Verse fourteen states, Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.  Paul said that we could have faith in our resurrection by faith in Jesus Christ, because the same God that raised Jesus will raise up those who put their faith in Him.  Verse fifteen adds, For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.  Paul said that their suffering was for the sake of those they were witnessing to and for God's glory.  It is because of the abundant grace of God that we have reason for thanksgiving even if we are being persecuted.  Verse sixteen continues, For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.  Paul declared that those who believe in Christ have everlasting security through faith. Even if the outward person, the body, perishes, the inward person, the soul, is renewed every day.  Verse seventeen states, For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;  Paul said their light affliction was temporary, and that it worked for their more exceeding and eternal, or everlasting, glory.  Whatever we suffer for the sake of the gospel is indeed light when we compare it to everlasting life in the presence of God.  Verse eighteen adds, 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.  Paul said we must live by the unseen things of God, which are everlasting.  We cannot see faith, nor even heaven itself, but we must live by faith in the unseen things of God.  We can see the material things of this world, but we are to lay up our treasures in the unseen things of faith.

2 Corinthians 4:1

2 Corinthians 4:1 says, Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;  Paul said that because of Christ, Who brought salvation and purpose to people, that he was given a ministry.  Having been given this ministry by the mercy of God, Paul said they would not faint in carrying out their ministry.  We need to have that same attitude and determination today.  Paul said that nothing in this world could keep him from doing what he was called to do, and we cannot allow anything in the world to stop us today.  Verse two adds, 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.  Paul said they were not attempting to live deceitfully but were living by the truth of God.  Paul continued by affirming that the truth of God was manifested in their lives.  We cannot begin to change the gospel in any way and live with Christ being manifested in our lives.  Verse three continues, But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:  The truth of the gospel will only be hidden to those who refuse to accept it.  The gospel will always be available to all those who are willing to accept it, and until a person accepts the gospel by faith it will never mean anything to them.  Verse four declares, 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.  Paul said that the god of this world blinded the minds of people so that the light of the gospel could not shine on them.  Paul refers to the gospel as the glorious gospel of Christ.  There is nothing more glorious that we can share with others than the gospel of Christ.  Verse five adds, For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.  Paul and those with him did not preach to bring glory to themselves, but only to bring glory to Christ.  Paul viewed himself simply as a servant to those he preached to for the sake of Jesus.  When we begin to view ourselves as anything other than servants of Christ for the reaching of the lost we are not being faithful to our calling.  We can never glorify ourselves nor let others glorify us.  Verse six continues, 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.  Paul said that God Who caused the physical light to shine out of darkness also caused the spiritual light to shine in the hearts of those who accepted Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Verse seven states, But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.  We have this treasure of the light of God in us, not to glorify this earthly vessel, our body, but to glorify God.  Verse eight adds, We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;  Paul was not preaching a gospel of prosperity, but a gospel of sacrifice and persecution. Verse nine continues, Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;  Paul said even though they were persecuted they were not forsaken by God, and though they were cast down they were not destroyed.  God will never forsake those who are His, nor will He allow them to be spiritually destroyed.  Paul did not see himself as suffering more than other Christians but saw them all as equals through the gospel of Christ.  Verse ten concludes, 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.  I believe that Paul was saying that if we want to share in the glory of Christ then we must allow Him to live through us, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:10

2 Corinthians 3:10 says, For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.  Paul said that even though the law was made glorious, since it was given by God, that it had no glory in its ability to save.  He then stated that this was true because of the glory of Christ, which excelled over the law.  God's word would now be written in the hearts of His people, and not on tablets of stone.  Verse eleven adds, For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.  Through the fulfillment of the law by Christ, the requirement to live up to every aspect of the law was done away with.  This does not mean that God's law is no longer valid, but that the requirement for salvation is simply faith in Christ.  This new covenant is indeed move excellent than the law.  Verse twelve continues, Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:  Paul wanted his message to be easily understood by all.  When we are witnessing for Christ, we need to keep the message simple.  Paul preached Jesus Christ, crucified, resurrected, and Lord.  This is still our message today.  We cannot explain every aspect of God, but we can proclaim the gospel clearly.  Verse thirteen states, And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:  Paul said that the children of Israel could not look openly at God through the law.  Just as Moses veiled his face before returning from the mountain, people were prevented from having unrestricted access to God.  They were still under the law and could never follow it completely, so sin always separated them from being able to look at God freely.  There was always a separating barrier, but Christ removed all barriers.  Verse fourteen adds, 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.  This is what Paul declared in this verse, that Christ removed the veil between people and God.  Verse fifteen continues, But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.   I believe that Paul was saying that when we attempt to approach God through the law that our will is always a barrier between God and us.  Though we are given free access to God through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, the sin in the world still keeps us from seeing all of God's glory.  Verse sixteen declares, Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.  There is coming a day, when Christ returns, when we can see God in all His glory.  Verse seventeen adds, Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  Just as the law brought bondage due to the inability of people to live up to its requirements, Christ brings liberty because we are under grace and not the law.  Verse eighteen continues, 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.  Paul said that as we look at God as though seeing His image in a mirror, that we are changed into that same image of God by faith.  We are to reflect God to the world by our faith in Christ.  We can only do this by living under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:1

2 Corinthians 3:1 says, 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 asked if they needed to prove themselves again and have written letters of commendation to be accepted by the church.  When a person is truly being effective in reaching the lost for Christ, they should not have to prove themselves everywhere they go, nor should they need written letters of recommendation to be accepted.  Verse two adds, Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:  Paul said that the believers in Corinth, and wherever he preached, were his epistle, written in his heart.  Those that we reach with the gospel of Christ are indeed our proof of our relationship to Christ, and they should have a special place in our hearts.  Verse three continues, Forasmuch as ye are manifestly 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.  Paul declared that those who accepted Christ as Savior and Lord were His epistle, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God.  We no longer have the law written on tablets of stone, but we have the law engraved in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Verse four states, And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:  Paul said his trust came from Christ and pointed to the heavenly Father.  As long as we put our faith in Christ we will never fail as witnesses for Him.  Verse five adds, Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;  Paul declared that they were not sufficient to do anything by their own ability.  Their sufficiency, or power, came from God.  If we begin to put our faith in our own ability instead of relying on the leadership and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, then we will soon fail.  Verse six says, 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.  Paul said they were called to be ministers of the new covenant.  This is the covenant based on faith in Christ and being led by the Holy Spirit.  This covenant brings life, whereas the old covenant, based on fulfilling the law of God could only lead to death.  Verse seven adds, 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:  Paul said that the law was glorious, in that it was given by God.  The failure of the old covenant was not because it was bad, but because it required total fulfillment at all times, and people were unable to live up to that requirement.  Christ fulfilled that requirement, and now all that is required is acceptance of the gift of salvation by faith.  Verse eight continues, How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?  Paul asks if the giving of the law was glorious, then should not the giving of salvation through faith in Christ be even more glorious.  Verse nine concludes, For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.  Paul said the if the giving of the law, which could only lead to death was glorious, then the giving of life through the righteousness of Christ should be more glorious.  The law of God pointed us to Him, but required our fulfilling it, which we cannot do.  Salvation by Christ relies on His fulfilling the law, which He did.

2 Corinthians 2:9

2 Corinthians 2:9 says, For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.  Paul was still referring to the church at Corinth following his advice on how to deal with the person who was causing problems by removing him from the fellowship.  The church in no way controls salvation, but still must not let one or two people disrupt the service.  Paul said that as they had followed his suggestion to remove the person from the fellowship of believers, the church, that he now hoped that they would follow his advice to restore the person if they had repented of their sin.  Verse ten adds, 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;  Paul said that anyone the the church at Corinth forgave that he forgave also, because of his relationship to Christ.  We are to be forgiven by God as we forgive others.  We cannot simply judge sinners but must reach out to them with love and forgiveness.  Verse eleven continues, Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.  Paul warned them that not reaching out to others in love allows Satan to take advantage.  Problems in the church should always be dealt with out of an attitude of love.  Verse twelve states, Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,  Paul came to Troas to preach the gospel, and while he was there another door was opened by the Lord.  We cannot let what we are doing, even if we are being successful, keep us from seeing when God opens another door for us to go through.  Just like Paul, we must be open to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and not rely strictly on our plans for serving God.  Verse thirteen adds, 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.  Paul said his spirit could not rest because he could not find Titus, but he still left for Macedonia.  We can only be faithful to our own calling, no matter what is happening in the lives of others.  Verse fourteen continues, 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.  Paul gave thanks to God Who enabled them to triumph wherever they went through the power of Christ.  When we are successful in presenting the gospel to the world, it is because of our following the leadership of God through the direction and strengthening of the Holy Spirit.  Verse fifteen says, For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:  Paul said that they were a sweet savor to God because they were obedient to Him.  The outcome wasn't what made Paul special to God, but the obedience is what mattered.  We cannot guarantee that people will accept the gospel when we present it, but we must always be faithful in presenting it.  Verse sixteen adds, 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?  Paul said that for those who refused to believe that they were a savior of death to death.  We can point people to life through Christ, but we cannot make them accept it.  To those who believed, Paul said they were a savior of life unto life.  Paul was a savior only by pointing others to Christ, the only Savior.  When we accept Christ as our Savior, we have life now and we will continue to have life forever. In verse seventeen Paul states, 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.  Paul declared that they were not like many who were corrupting the word of God, but God was their witness that they spoke the truth of Christ.  We also must proclaim the uncorrupted gospel.

2 Corinthians 2:1

2 Corinthians 2:1 says, But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness.  Paul said that he determined not to come to the Corinthians in heaviness, or to simply point out their failings.  Paul had faith in the church at Corinth to handle the problems that arose there.  Each church, or local fellowship of believers today, is capable of dealing with any problem that might arise in it.  We do not have to rely on someone who is more holy to come and correct any problem.  We are all filled with the same power of the Holy Spirit.  Verse two adds, For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?  I believe that Paul was saying that if he were to make the believers at Corinth sorry, or to bring them despair through Christ, then how could he at the same time make them glad through Christ.  We are not called to sorrow in Christ, but to rejoicing in our salvation.  Verse three continues, 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 said that what he had written was written so that the church could correct their problems so that when he came to them, they might rejoice, or have joy, in their salvation.  If we hear of a problem in a church, we need to point it out to those who worship there, but we must allow them to correct it so that we might have joy together.  We may pray for those that have problems, but they must take responsibility for correcting the problems themselves.  Verse four states, 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.  Paul grieved for the church at Corinth and their problems.  He wrote to them out of love and not out of an attitude of judgment or moral superiority.  We today must have the same attitude.  Problems in any church should cause us to be broken hearted for the people there, and not to cause us to feel superior.  Too often we like to talk about what we see as problems in other churches instead of praying for them and showing the love of God to them.  Verse five adds, But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.  Paul said that the actions of one church member, or even a few members, did not cause him to blame the whole church.  Verse six continues, Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.  Paul had suggested how they should deal with the situation, and the congregation as a whole had done so.  Again, I don't believe Paul demanded that they do what he said, but that he offered advice that they followed.  There is no one Christian, even a Christian leader, who can demand that others do what he dictates.  Each congregation should be led by the Holy Spirit and needs no other advocate before God.  Verse seven says, So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.  Paul said that the attitude of the church toward one who had been removed from the fellowship due to unrepentant sin should be one of love and restoration.  We should never give up on nor look down on others, especially those who are fellow believers.  Verse eight adds, Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.  Paul asked them to reach out to the one who had caused problems in love.  Too often, when a Christian fails in some way other Christians prefer to condemn rather than to forgive them.  We should always welcome those who have failed, whether the failing was big or small, back into the fellowship when they repent and seek God's forgiveness.  I also believe that they should not be welcomed conditionally as one on trial to see if they will fail again, but as an equal in the eyes of God.

2 Corinthians 1:13

2 Corinthians 1:13 says, For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;  Paul said that he wrote only of the gospel of Christ.  He was not fickle in his witnessing, stating one thing to one group of people and something different to another.  Paul was always consistent in his witnessing for Christ, and we must be also.  We cannot profess salvation by faith in Christ alone to one group and add anything to that requirement for salvation to another group.  The gospel will endure to the end of the world, and so must our faith in the gospel.  Verse fourteen adds, As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.  Paul said the church at Corinth acknowledged and rejoiced because of his witnessing to them and the world.  Paul also stated that he rejoiced in them, because they were all Christ's through faith.  Paul did not claim to be superior to other Christians, nor did he live to bring glory to himself.  We should be the same way today, rejoicing with other Christians, even if we never meet them personally.  We can never claim to be better than any other Christian but must always live for God's glory and not our own.  Verse fifteen continues, And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;  Paul said that his plan had been to return to Corinth.  Though Paul said that he wanted to do this so they might have a second benefit, I don't believe that this meant that Paul's coming to them would somehow make them better Christians.  I believe he meant that they would benefit from worshipping together in Christ and would edify each other.  Verse sixteen states, 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 had planned his journey, and he was to pass by them going to and coming from Macedonia.  Paul's plan was contingent on one thing, and that was the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  When we make plans for how and where we are going to witness, we need to first make sure that the Holy Spirit is leading us in our plans.  Verse seventeen adds, 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 asked if they thought that he had planned without sincerity, or with lightness.  Paul also asked if they thought he made plans based on the things of this world, or of the flesh.  He said that the gospel was not true at one time, or yea, and not true at another time, or nay.  Paul was always consistent in his presentation of the gospel, and we must be also.  Verse eighteen continues, But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.  Paul once more states that he was always consistent in preaching the gospel of salvation by faith.  Verse nineteen concludes, 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.  Paul stated that Jesus Himself was consistent in the truth of the gospel.  There is but one true gospel by which we must be saved.  Verse twenty declares, For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.  God's truth will never waiver and we can put our faith in it.  Verse twenty-one adds, Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;  Paul said that they were established and anointed by God to preach His word.  We today as followers of Christ are likewise established and anointed by God to witness for Christ in all that we do.  Verse twenty-two continues, Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.  We are sealed to God by the Holy Spirit.  Verse twenty-three states, Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.  Paul said that the reason he had yet to come to Corinth was to spare the believers there.  He was not going to come to them when he was upset with them.  Verse twenty-four adds, Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.  Paul said that he was not in power over the believers at Corinth, but that those with him and he himself were helpers in faith.  We cannot not go to other Christians with an attitude of superiority but must go to help them in their faith.  We all have joy when we stand by faith in Christ.