2 Corinthians Review continued

In 2 Corinthians Paul spent some time defending his apostleship.  He did not do this to bring honor or glory to himself, but to prove that what he was saying and doing was under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Paul did not do this to bring honor to himself, and in fact even apologized for having to do so.  If we find it necessary to defend our relationship to God, it should be done so that God will be glorified.  Paul said that he should not have had to defend himself, because his work for the gospel was itself a witness to his calling.  As stated earlier, Satan is at work to stop the spread of the gospel, and if he can discredit those who are being most effective in spreading the gospel then he is being successful.  What we as followers of Christ need to be careful of is that he is not doing it through us.  When some of those in the church at Corinth began to question Paul's calling, they were helping Satan in his work.  When we begin to put down the work of those who are spreading the gospel today, for whatever reason, then we are doing the same thing.  We are not called to support only those preachers who are most liked, but to support all preachers, or even fellow believers, who present the truth of the gospel.  Paul said that even though they might not have liked the way that he looked or sounded, that he was not what was important, but that the message was all that mattered.  Paul also said that he supported himself in his ministry so that people could not claim that he was just in the ministry for the money.  This was not to teach that no one in the ministry should be paid.  It was Paul's choice.  He also said that he hoped that he wasn't looked down on because he did not accept support.  We today should not look down on those ministers who work to support, or help support, themselves.  If someone serves in a church that cannot fully support them, then if anything they should be held in higher esteem.  Yet, we often look at those ministers who are at larger churches as somehow being more worthy of being heard.

2 Corinthians Review

We will now review some of the things we learned from 2nd Corinthians.  I believe the first thing that Paul teaches us is that we are to have a concern for all Christians.  Paul made it abundantly clear that he wasn't just trying to get people to say that they accepted Christ and then forget them.  Paul's concern was not about making himself look good, but about reaching others with the gospel and then helping them grow in faith.  We as followers of Christ today need to have that same desire.  The second thing is that Paul wanted to ensure that the gospel remained pure.  There were those in the church at Corinth who were trying to add to the requirements of the gospel.  There are people today who claim to be Christians who add requirements to the gospel.  The gospel is and always will be simply the acceptance of Christ as Savior and Lord and then living under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  We cannot work for salvation nor become good enough to claim a right relationship with God, but can only accept the gift of salvation made available by the grace of God.  The next thing is that we need to realize that Satan is real and will do anything he can to destroy the gospel.  If Satan can get Christians to fighting or even arguing among themselves, then he will, if not stop, then at least hinder the gospel.  The time that followers of Christ spend arguing among themselves is not only time spent not spreading the gospel, but it also makes those who have not accepted Christ as their Savior and Lord question why they would want to do so.  If the people of the church are no different than other people, then what is the reason for following Christ.  We are to be led by the Holy Spirit and are to be set apart from the world in our thoughts and actions.  I think that too often we want a Santa Claus more than a Savior and Lord.  We want to be good enough, at least at certain times, for God to give us material gifts, but we don't want to be concerned about our actions most of the time.  As followers of Christ, we are to be nice all the time, not for gifts of the things of this world, but for the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 13:11

2 Corinthians 13:11 says, Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.  Paul closed with a farewell.   He had said all that he had to say, except for the things he now asked of them.  They were asked to be perfect, by which I believe he meant be perfect in faith.  We will never attain true perfection in this life, but we are to strive for it.  We should never expect that once we become followers of Christ that we become perfect in all our actions automatically.  Still, we are to strive daily to live in perfect faith.  Paul asked that they be of good comfort.  They were not to let the troubles of life to keep them from being comforted by their relationship with Christ.   When we are living under the leadership of Christ, we are secure forevermore, no matter what happens in the world, and this should bring us great comfort.  He asked that they be of one mind.  By this, I believe that he meant that as they each sought God's will in their lives that He would lead them to unity.  When there is discord in the church, God is never behind it, and if each Christian is truly committed to following Christ, then there will be no dissension.  To be of one mind does not mean that every thought and action of every person will be the same, but that the Holy Spirit will guide all our thoughts.  Paul then asked them to live in peace.  I believe that he meant with each other and with the world.  We are to be at peace through Christ, no matter what happens in the world.  Paul said if they did these things that the God of love and peace would be with them.  As followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit is always with us, but if we are at war with our neighbors then God's peace is not with us.  Verse twelve Paul adds, Greet one another with an holy kiss.  We might find this strange today, but it was the customary greeting in their day.  I believe the meaning is to meet each other with real affection.  Verse thirteen continues, All the saints salute you.  Paul was not alone in his care for and concern for the church at Corinth.  All those saints, or believers, with him greeted them as well.  Verse fourteen concludes, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.  This is all we can ask for any church or individual.  If we live under the grace of Christ and the love of God in communion with the Holy Spirit, everything else will be all right, no matter what happens in life.

2 Corinthians 13:7

2 Corinthians 13:7 says, Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.  Paul was still showing his concern for the church at Corinth.  He was praying that they would live by faith so that they could prove themselves to be true followers of Christ.  He prayed this not so that he should be approved, or for his own glory, but so that they might do what was right in the eyes of God.  We should always pray that other Christians, and we ourselves should live lives that are honest in the eyes of the world, but especially in the eyes of God.  Verse eight adds, For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.  I believe that Paul was saying that we can do nothing to change the truth of God.  We may deny it or we may even attempt to change what the truth of God says, but God's truth is eternal.  It always was and always will be the truth.  Some things that people once thought were the truth, such as the world is flat, have been proven wrong, but God's truth never will be.  God is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.  He is the Creator and Redeemer of mankind.  We can either accept this truth or reject it, but we can never change it.  Verse nine continues, For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.  I believe that Paul was saying that he was not upset if he was weaker than another Christian, or at least was viewed that way.  We are never called to feel that we are superior to other Christians, and if their faith appears stronger, we should rejoice for them.  Paul said that he wished for their perfection.  They would never achieve it, and neither will we, but perfection in faith should always be our goal.  It should also be our prayer for others.  Verse ten concludes, Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.  Paul wanted to help edify or build up the church at Corinth.  He said God gave him the power to deal harshly with heresy in the church, but that he hoped that his words, written out of love for them, would lead them to correct the problems in the church there.  We have to point out heresies in the church, but we should always do so under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and out of an attitude of love.

2 Corinthians 13:1

2 Corinthians 13:1 says, This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.  Paul said that he was coming to them a third time.  He had already been there when he proclaimed the gospel to them and had sent them another letter.  He had not reached them with the gospel and forgotten them.  He said that by the witnessing of two or three that every word would be established.  He was not asking them to only take his word for it.  When we are at work for Christ, there should be one or two other believers who can attest to our work.  In verse two adds, I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:  Paul said that he was speaking to them as if he were present with them.  He said he was writing to those who as believers were guilty of sinning in the church still.  Though we are all sinners who are saved by grace, we can no longer claim that it is okay to sin.  Paul was not writing to them with a holier than thou attitude, but with an attitude of love and compassion.  Verse three continues, Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.  Paul said they wanted proof that Christ was speaking through him, which they thought meant he would be strong and not weak as many of them viewed him.   Once more, we cannot judge a person's faith by their physical strength.  Verse four states, For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.  Paul said that Christ Himself was crucified in physical weakness, but that He lived by the power of God.  Paul then said that he was weak, but that he would live with Christ by the power of God.  We are weak in the flesh, no matter how strong we may be, but can be strong by living through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Verse five adds, Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?  We are to examine ourselves first to prove our faith.  Paul tells the Corinthians that as followers of Christ that Jesus lives in them, through the Holy Spirit.  If Christ is not in us, then Paul says we are a reprobate, simply claiming to be Christians when we are not.  Verse six continues, But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.  Paul made this statement because he knew that Christ was in him.  He lived under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  We should be able to make the same declaration about our lives.

2 Corinthians 12:16

2 Corinthians 12:16 says, But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.  Paul said that they might somehow claim that he had cleverly made it appear that he did not receive any financial support from them while doing so through cleverness, or guile.  I believe he was saying they might claim this because he sent others to collect claiming it was for themselves or some other purpose and then giving it to Paul.  Verse seventeen Paul adds, Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you?  Paul wanted to end this claim quickly.  He asked if he had received anything from the church by anyone he had sent to them.  If Paul had so much trouble defending his ministry, even having to defend himself because the church wasn't, then we should not be surprised if we have what we do for Christ questioned.  Once more, I do not believe that Paul was saying that the church should not support a minister financially, but that more importantly they should support him spiritually.  Paying a minister should never be seen as giving a church control of what he does or says.  Verse eighteen continues, I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?  Paul asked if Titus and the one sent with him asked for financial support from the church.  This would have been a clever way for Paul to benefit, allowing them to collect and then giving some or all to Paul.  Paul then said they walked in the same spirit and steps.  In other words, they like Paul paid their own way.  They walked by the leadership of the Holy Spirit following the footsteps of Jesus, as should we.  Verse nineteen states, Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.  Paul said he wasn't speaking to excuse himself, since he was following God's will and was doing what he did to edify them.  Just as Paul, if we see a problem in the church, we need to address it, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and to edify the church.  If we do so, we need never apologize, even if people speak badly about us.  Verse twenty adds, For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:  Paul told them that he was writing to clear up any misunderstandings between them.  He wanted to eliminate all the negative things that were happening in the church.  Paul wanted them to be true to their faith in Christ, in words and actions.  Verse twenty-one continues, And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.  Paul did not want to have to speak out against sinful actions in the church at Corinth when he came.  He wanted the believers in the church there to correct their own problems.  I believe that Paul saying that God would humble him referred to the fact that he had spoken well of the church at Corinth, and they were not living up to the faith he proclaimed of them.  When we see problems in the church, we need to act quickly to correct them under God's leadership.

2 Corinthians 12:11

2 Corinthians 12:11 says, I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.  Paul said that the reason he had become a fool in glorifying himself was because the members of the church at Corinth had forced him to.  He was not doing it for his own benefit, but to answer those who were questioning or even denying his right to be an apostle.  Whenever Satan can get Christians to put down other Christians, he is delighted.  Verse twelve adds, Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.  Paul was basically declaring that his works should prove his apostleship without his having to defend himself.  He had done the work of an apostle with all patience, through signs, wonders, and mighty deeds.  As followers of Christ today, our work for Christ should show us to be His followers.  Verse thirteen continues, For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.  I believe that Paul was asking if the church at Corinth felt that they were inferior to other churches, which they would have been had they been established by an inferior apostle, one who didn't really have a true relationship with Christ.  We need to realize that if a church, or fellowship of believers, is truly established on salvation through Christ alone, that none is inferior to another, no matter the size of the congregation.  Paul then asked if they felt inferior because he didn't ask them to support him.  Again, not being able to fully support a preacher, or minister, does not make a church inferior to one that can.  God is the One that empowers both.  Paul then said that if his not looking to them for support made them feel that they, or Paul himself, were someone inferior, that he asked their forgiveness.  Material wealth should never determine how a church is viewed, but I am afraid that it often is.  Sometimes people seem to put more pride in the church they attend than they do in their own commitment to Christ.  Verse fourteen states, Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.  Paul said that he was ready for the third time to come to them, but we have no evidence that he made it.  He also said he would still not ask them for support, because the were still young in their faith.  Our plans may not always be God's plans, but that does not mean we should not make plans, only that we should acknowledge God's right to change them.  Verse fifteen adds, And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.  Paul said he would provide for himself and even give his life gladly for the church at Corinth.  He then said that it seemed the more abundantly he loved them, the less they loved Him.  We cannot guarantee that the things we do for other Christians will always be appreciated, but we should not let that stop us from doing them if we know that is what God wants.