This week's Bible study will move on to 2nd Corinthians chapter 7

Being Comforted By God

(2 Corinthians chapter 7)

When we finished chapter 6 last week, I closed by recounting how God had always promised us, even in ancient times, that He would gladly receive us as his children. Paul quoted from the book of Leviticus, and then from Isaiah, as he closed out what would later become the ending verses of chapter 6, when he wrote, “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Leviticus chapter 26, verse 12), followed by, “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you” (Isaiah chapter 52, verse 11). Paul ends with a third and similar quote, “I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord God Almighty” (2 Samuel, chapter 7, verse 8). See how the apostle Paul blended those three separate scripture quotes together, even though they were from 3 different books in the Bible written by three different authors? That's because Paul, before his encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus (from the book of Acts chapter 9), was a soldier of the Temple at Jerusalem, a member of the Sanhedrin (the Roman senate of its day) and was educated in the synagogues at Rome and Jerusalem. So, Paul knew a lot about the Bible as it was in those days, and had undoubtedly memorized large portions of the Law of Moses as a part of his education. When Saul of Tarsus was called by God and became the apostle Paul, God picked him because God knew Paul's extensive knowledge of the scriptures was something they both could use to save more souls. Paul then finishes his train of thought in verse 1 before beginning to greatly encourage the church, both then and now, in verse 2.

“Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have exploited no one. I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds. For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn – conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.” (2 Corinthians chapter 7, verses 1-7, NIV)

“Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit”. It reads like a goal worth achieving, but how do we go about doing this? Upon further examination of self-purification as it applies to oneself, I have concluded that the correct starting point would be with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As Jesus taught us in the four Gospels, “What good is it to gain the whole world if you lose your soul?” Therefore, there is no question whatsoever in my mind that anything that stands between us and our relationship with Christ has simply got to go. Period. No exceptions. That means no more fixation on material goods of all kinds, especially if you already have a lot of these things as some of us do. Why does anybody need a big new house, a new car, new clothes, new electronics, or the latest fad item? What's wrong with what you have (unless, of course, you have nothing to begin with as I often do)? Why do you worry about money (read Matthew chapter 6!)? If the dollar crashes tomorrow – and that's more likely than some folks would like to believe – all our money will become essentially worthless. Bank account balances would be wiped out – not in a matter of weeks or months, but of days, maybe even hours. What would I do if that were to occur? I would say, 'Oh well, it was only a bunch of money for me to buy a bunch of stuff that I probably didn't need anyway', followed by something like, 'But my salvation in Christ is still intact'. The bottom line here, brothers and sisters, is that in the end, Jesus will be all that is left to us. We will, at the point of death, be instantly taken home to be with the Lord, and to finally see Jesus face to face. And when that finally does happen, we won't be able to take anything with us anyway. But then again, we won't need or want that stuff any more once we arrive there.

Paul then goes on to write, “in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds”, which is another way of saying that he has learned to be content whether he has little or has much. Be happy with what you have. Remember that there are over two billion people throughout the world who have nothing compared to us, at least when it comes to worldly possessions. By nothing I mean no electricity and no running water, no internet or other form of communication – and never mind shopping or transportation either. Untold hundreds of millions don't even have access to clean water for drinking and bathing. As a result, many of them get sick and die before they reach adulthood. Could any of us be happy and contented in such surroundings? I doubt that many of us would. How do we maintain a Godly mindset in such otherwise impossible, or even ridiculous, circumstances? By putting God first before everything else, including ourselves. If anyone finds themselves in such a seemingly untenable situation, and there appears to be no relief in sight, that's when we need to step back and let God take control of that situation and the people within it. That's exactly what Paul is telling the Corinthian church to do. It's just that I feel that some of this deep meaning I have just shared with you all got diluted or even lost in the translation. Paul then continues in verse 8.

“Even if I caused you sorrow in my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it – I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while – yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this Godly sorrow has produced in you; what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong or of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. By all this we are encouraged. In addition to your own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting to you about Titus has proved to be true as well. And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling. I am glad I can have complete confidence in you.” (2 Corinthians 7, verses 8-16, NIV)

Paul then writes on about “causing them sorrow”. Here he is referring to his first letter to that church which we now call First Corinthians, and which we recently finished studying. You will no doubt recall that the apostle Paul had a few things to say to that church, some of which were not complimentary. If in so doing, Paul wrote, he hurt a few people's feelings and ruffled a few feathers, it is only because Paul correctly saw that as his job. He was exercising his leadership responsibilities by pointing out these issues to the early church. Paul is also careful to point out that his chastening of the church led to what he called “Godly sorrow”, which brings on repentance and results in a closer relationship between Christ and all his believers. Godly sorrow, then, is like a Spiritual detoxification that brings about an ever higher level of purity in the hearts of all who truly believe. It cleans us out in the spirit, just like scraping and sanding on an old house gets it ready for a new coat of paint. Are we up to the challenge, and can we complete this task set before us? Of course we can, for God can make us able. Paul said it best himself when he wrote, “I am glad I can have complete confidence in you.”

Paul closes out this chapter with a couple of references to “Titus”. Who was he, some of you are undoubtedly asking? Well, he wrote the book of Titus in the New Testament. It's a very small book with just one chapter, and it's located between Second Timothy and Philemon. Although I don't know this for sure, I also think that it is highly likely that Titus was present among the 120 faithful followers of Christ in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost. He was, in fact, one of the original leaders of the early church. Someday we'll get to meet him too, right after we meet Jesus face to face. What a marvelous and incredible day that will most certainly be. All who believe in Jesus and call upon His name will experience this, all at the same time. I can't wait.