2nd
Corinthians Chapter One
Today,
in our ongoing study of the writings of the apostle Paul, we will
begin an in-depth study of the Second Book of Corinthians starting
with chapter one. We'll go ahead and go through it in its entirety
except for the final two verses, which are actually the true
beginning of chapter two. It is widely assumed that this was the
apostle Paul's final letter to the early church at Corinth, but
that's only because no others have been found intact despite much
archaeological exploration throughout the Middle East and Southern
Europe. It would truly be awesome if an additional letter were to be
found in these last days before Christ's return, but for now let's
begin our study as I quote from the apostle Paul.
“Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our
brother, to the Church of God in Corinth, together with all the
saints throughout Achaia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all
comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort
those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from
God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives,
so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed,
it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for
your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same
sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know
that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our
comfort.” (2nd
Corinthians 1, verses 1-7, NIV)
The
first two things that jump out at us is the apostle Paul's compelling
show of empathy and compassion towards all people, and his
uncompromising and unconditional praise of Almighty God.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in
all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with
the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
Notice that Paul then gives God the Father and Jesus the Son all the
credit for his ability to comfort and minister to those who are in
trouble or distress, and he cites them as his source of ability to do
so, and the flowing of the Holy Spirit as His means to accomplish it.
Besides being a beautiful beginning to his 13-chapter letter to the
Corinthian church, this is a good example of the documentation of the
Holy Trinity as it is taught by all Christian denominations (at least
as far as I know). We have God the Father, God the Son who is Christ
Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit, which was sent to us at Pentecost 40
days after Christ's ascension into heaven, and which is His down
payment on the souls of all humankind until its fulfillment at His
second coming, which is to be His return so that He may rule the
earth and everything in it. So Paul is telling us, “You all want to
be good Christians, don't you? And don't we all wish to follow the
apostle Paul's example of human empathy and compassion? Then rejoice
with those who rejoice, and mourn with those that mourn. Give
everybody moral support to uplift them, and distribute it lavishly”.
Paul then continues in verse 8:
“We
do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we
suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far
beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this
happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises
the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will
deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to
deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give
thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to
the prayers of many. Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies
that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our
relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God.
We have done so not according to our worldly wisdom but according to
God's grace. For we do not write you anything that you cannot read or
understand. And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you
will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we
will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus. Because I was
confident of this, I planned to visit you first so that you might
benefit twice. I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to
come back to you from Macedonia, and then have you send me on my way
to Judea. When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my
plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, 'yes,
yes' and 'no, no'?” (2nd Corinthians 1, verses 8-17, NIV)
Let's
pause at verse 8 for a moment and put this entire first paragraph
into its historical context. The church was being actively and
heavily persecuted at the time this was being written. There were
those who paid with their lives for their faith, and the followers of
Jesus were being terrorized. I believe that's why Paul used his own
example to encourage the faithful to not give up hope, to not give in
to fear, and to always remember that no matter what happens, God is
still on His throne. Paul's words in verse 9 convey this thought
perfectly. “Indeed,
in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that
we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”
As Christ has been resurrected to eternal life, so shall we be, and I
believe this is another clear reference by Paul to the Holy Spirit.
Paul then goes on to mention that he and Timothy, who was with him
when he wrote this letter, “conducted
ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in
the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not
according to our worldly wisdom but according to God's grace”. It
appears that Paul is making clear that the way in which the Church of
its day was conducting its business in an entirely above-board
fashion, and this is something that the modern churches –
regardless of denomination – would be wise to follow.
There are way too many of these “mega-churches” and
televised evangelists that are conducting their day-to-day operations
as for-profit enterprises while simultaneously presenting themselves
to the world, and the IRS, as benevolent non-profits. Being active in
the ministry as a missionary in the inner city of Atlanta as well as
an Internet pastor, writer and political activist, I can say from
experience that there are a disturbing number of these churches and
TV preachers who have gotten rich from preaching the Gospel. Every
time I hear about preachers owning very expensive luxury and
performance cars, living in sprawling mansions that Jesus would sneer
at, and flying around in high-priced corporate jets, it infuriates me
that Christ and Christian faith should be flaunted and aggrandized in
this way. Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe that God wants us to
have all our needs met, all our bills paid, plenty to eat, sufficient
clothing, and with a roof over our heads and access to
transportation, higher education and medical care. I'm equally
certain that God wants us all to be rich in the Spirit, being filled
with the love and teachings of Christ, and with His peace which is
beyond all human understanding. God wants what is best for us at all
times.
But
does Jesus want all of us to be multi-millionaire tycoons? Was it not
Christ himself that said, “It
is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle that it is
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven”?
Did He not also say, “Be
careful where you keep your treasure, for where you treasure is, your
heart will be also”?
And did Jesus not narrow the definition of that verse even further
when He stated, “Do
not store up your treasures here on earth, where thieves break in and
steal and where moths and rust eat up and destroy. But instead store
up your treasures in heaven, where thieves do not break in and steal,
and where moths and rust do not eat up and destroy”.
That last saying, from the gospel of Matthew, is what applies best
here. Do you want to accumulate a lot of stuff? Make sure it's the
kind of stuff that you store in heaven, because everything here is
temporary anyway, and when we die we can't take any of it with us.
Let's now find a comfortable place to close today's lesson, beginning
at verse 18.
“But
as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not, 'yes' and
'no'. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by
me and Silas and Timothy, was not 'yes' and 'no', but in him it has
always been yes. For no matter how many promises God has made, they
are 'yes' in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by
us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand
firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership upon us,
and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is
to come.” (2 Corinthians 1, verses 18-22, NIV)
The bottom line here is that God's message to us, His
faithfulness, love and kindness, is completely consistent all the
time. There is no variation to God's love for each of us, and the
best part of all is that it's eternal, going on to infinity. It does
not matter how many promises God makes to us, He can and will still
fulfill them all. It doesn't matter what we have done, or where we
have been, or even who we are. Jesus can and does forgive all sin,
all transgression against God whether intentional or not. His
crucifixion on the cross and resurrection 3 days later made it all
possible. And his Holy Spirit is still here with us as a guarantee
for Jesus' return. Plus, His triumphant return is what we all wait
for with the most anticipation. Not only is He most certainly coming
back very soon, we don't have much time left. It's time for everyone
reading this to make a decision for Christ. Soon He will be here, and
by then it will be too late for many. The time to accept Jesus as
your Savior is right now. Don't wait. Do it today.
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