2 Corinthians 6:1-10 - No Offense is the Best Defense

2 Corinthians 6:1-10

Marks of the Ministry

1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says:

“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

3 We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. 4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, 5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; 6 by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, 7 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

Paul lived in such a way as to avoid giving offense by making it his aim to continually doing what was right and not as an offense to God or man.  This was his best defense as it is ours also, to give no offense as the best defense.  This marked his ministry as an example of the teaching of Christ to all who were in Corinth as well as in our own churches and lives.  As fellow workers in synergy with the Lord Jesus, we must also not receive God’s grace in vain by living with offense that we are not blamed by good and defamed by our actions by others who should be seeing as well as hearing the good news of the righteousness of Christ displayed in us.  He saved us in the accepted time of His grace in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Himself that we might be holy as He is (Leviticus 11:44, 1 Peter 1:16) in responsive reading of the scriptures to live out.  We are urged not to offend that the ministry may not be hindered and blamed for doing evil (1 Corinthians 4:12-13, 2 Corinthians 6:8, 1 Peter 4:15-16) as those who bear witness to the gospel message often are by those opposing God and His Son.  What should a faithful minister do to avoid slander and blame?  The list here that the apostle and his co-laborers gave is a good starting point for us.  We need to exhibit patience, endurance in pressing situations, contentment when in need, peace in distress, patience when the law turns on us for our faith, physical assault for the gospel’s sake, exhaustion in the work of ministry, and when we fast for direction and strength to continue to serve.  We are also given character traits to develop and exercise in this work.  These include staying pure in the face of temptations, studying constantly to gain needed knowledge to answer tough questions, learning to endure with kindness in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit within us who leads and guides and enables us to speak and serve, as well as to sincerely love others in this ministry and not seek ulterior motives or trick others to do what is right.  We use the word of truth spoken sincerely instead in the power and wisdom given by God according to His word while living righteously in the face of slanderous accusations to dishonor our witness and lies to falsely report our intent and actions in presenting the good news of Jesus Christ.  We will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12) for His name’s sake just as He suffered for telling the truth of man’s sinfulness and need of a Savior’s grace.  We may be smeared as deceiving others but must stand in sincerity of heart and true speaking as we die to self and live for our Lord in our ministry of service (Romans 12:1-2) as living sacrifices.  Though we often sorrow at the responses and rejection of the gospel and appearance poor in comparison to others, yet we still make many rich who hear and receive Jesus Christ through repentance and faith upon hearing the words of truth and being convicted by the Spirit who gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:7) to eternal life.  We offer the treasure of heaven in the Lord Jesus Christ and so endure all things for the sake of the elect (2 Timothy 2:10) chosen by God and called out through this message of hope and forgiveness in unmerited grace.  Yes, giving no offense in anything is the best defense of the work of Christ in the gospel opposed to by many in the world which we minister and declare to the world. 

2 Corinthians 5:12-21 - Reconciliation in Christ

2 Corinthians 5:12-21

12 For we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf, that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Be reconciled to God!  That is the plea from the Lord through the apostle in this epistle to all who have ears to hear.  This is the call in the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul boasted in Christ alone and not in himself as some do according to their outward appearance and not the heart as they tout their own accomplishments instead of Christ’s on the cross.  Whether we appear to have lost our minds to some or are seen as sober minded in the explanation and truth of the scriptures to the world who hears us, we who know Him are driven to understand and proclaim the atoning death of Jesus on that cross of the curse on our behalf that we un we are crucified with Him.  We died with Christ in order that we might be resurrected in our souls with Him now in this life and in our new undying and incorruptible bodies to match in the life to follow death (Romans 6:5-6).  We died to sin in Him and have a new spirit of eternal life now and will likewise rise from the grave and join Him in heaven with a new body in the final resurrection of life (John 5:29)!  We are born again as new creations in Christ as the old has gone from our souls and a new life has begun which will come to full maturity in the afterlife in His presence where we will be like Him at last in both body and soul.  This is our absolute hope and no mere wish or unwarranted desire.  We will be raised with Him to this state because He has already reconciled us to the Father by His suffering and death on the cross, restoring us in the relationship intended in our original creation at the beginning of the world in Adam and Eve where all was made and declared good until sin separated us from Him and the tree of life.  We are restored in relationship and fellowship with our Father through His Son as testified by His Spirit living now within we who are His!  He has forgiven our sins and imputed the righteousness of Christ in Him to us as if we are also righteous now, counting it as ours because of His work.  God pleads with all who hear the gospel to be likewise reconciled to God in Jesus Christ for His behalf and by His sacrifice to buy us at such a price.  We who have been reconciled now are ambassadoring this message of life from death to all He calls and opens the eyes and ears of their hearts to join us in becoming the righteousness of God as designed in Him.  Please listen and read these words of scripture to be reconciled in Christ to the Father through repentance and faith, turning from sin to Him and joining the fellow citizens (Ephesians 2:19) of Heaven in a certain hope and future as we were made to be!  You will be sealed by His Spirit to prove the transformation and have your eyes opened to unimaginably wondrous things. 

2 Corinthians 5:1-11 - Our Hope and Warning

2 Corinthians 5:1-11

Assurance of the Resurrection

1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

We as believers are given a certain expectation of resurrection and judgment of rewards as promised to us by the Lord.  This body we now have is corrupted by sin and left unchecked by the tree of life once available to mankind in Eden’s Garden.  It will be destroyed by death and rot away in the grave, but we have been shown that it will also be raised to a new life (Romans 8:11) just as our spirits have been already in Christ (Romans 6:4-5, Galatians 2:20, 6:14-15) as promised by faith.  It is therefore appropriate that our bodies are referred to as tents here in scripture since we are sojourners traveling through this life into eternity where the incorruptible permanent vessels await us all, whether in the presence of the Lord or in torment away from seeing His face as Matthew 25:46 and John 5:29 tell us plainly as we had been told before in Daniel 12:2 to prepare us for the coming of the Christ to make this possible.  We therefore also groan in anticipation to be transformed in body as in soul in this resurrection to come as the template was shown in the rising of our Lord Jesus Christ from the grave to give us assurance and peace in the truth of it all.  Yes, our mortality will certainly be swallowed up by eternal life and we will be with the Lord forever (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18)!  We can be certain of this promise because He has given us His own Spirit to live in us that we might understand these truths and know we have been sealed with Himself as proof of being His now and into eternity.  He is our guarantee of the promises and hope we eagerly wait for (Romans 8:25, Galatians 5:5, Philippians 3:20-21) as our mortality is swallowed up by this eternal life.  We walk about through life by faith in His word and work as certain promises back up the hope we have in Christ, with confidence that we will be one day absent from this corrupt flesh in the very real and unending presence of the Lord!  We are called therefore and given many examples in scripture to aim at pleasing God and not living for the passing pleasures of sin as we invest in eternity.  We will be held accountable by reward or loss (1 Corinthians 3:14-15) but not of the presence of our Savior who promises eternal life which cannot be forfeited or taken away from His grasp of us (John 10:28-29) if once saved to be always saved.  This is the hope and warning we present in the gospel to all who will hear and heed as God knows us and of whom we bear witness of to the world. 

2 Corinthians 4:7-18 - Invincible in Christ!

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

Cast Down but Unconquered

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.

13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

Seeing the Invisible

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

We are jars of fired clay, refined mud vessels of God’s dust of this earth molded on the Potter’s wheel created by His power and made to last through trials.  These fragile clay vessels remind us that all power to sustain us comes from the Almighty and not from ourselves as we realize that such earthen vessels can be easily damaged or destroyed unless kept by the power of God in Christ Jesus.  Paul therefore reminds us all that the treasure of Christ within us is solely a display of God’s omnipotence and not something we work up to battle with.  When pressing circumstances or overwhelming confusion confront us, we can confidently look to Him with reliance and trust to keep from being crushed under the weight of circumstance as we are assured that He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).  We have hope to overcome all despair when seemingly destitute in circumstances thrown our way.  If we are struck down, we know that we are not destroyed because His perfect love (1 John 4:18) keeps us from eternal torment no matter how we fail Him.  Why?  Because we have been crucified with the Christ (Galatians 2:20) who suffered far worse at the hands of sinners and who suffer to the death of cursing on that tree we call the cross I utter agony and seemingly forsaken by God (Psalm 22:1) so we do not have to be.  We live in that reality of the crucified Christ as we die daily to ourselves (Matthew 16:24, 1 Corinthians 15:31, Galatians 6:14) and live for Him in His power so that we might also be on display with the life of Jesus shining through us in all adversity.  This dying to self as crucified with Christ is the witness to this world of the effectual work of our Lord in and through us to them.  We, like the apostle here, can confidently echo the truth that we believe by God-given faith to take Him at His word for salvation with the certainty of the resurrection of our bodies at the end of time just as our souls have already experienced.  This grace in us spreads to those around us that many others can give unending thanks to God for this wonderful work of reconciliation to make us His own children!  Because of these certain promises we can endure all things without losing heart in great tribulation as we understand we are being sanctified through the fiery trials (1 Peter 4:12-13) we endure for His glory, honor, and praise.  These pressing times are but a blink of an eye in eternity when put in Gods perspective.  Our old man is being cleansed as by fire to cure these vessels of clay in our Master’s hand and we can then see that the suffering is momentary and effective in molding us into the image of Christ’s glory as He also was perfected through suffering (Hebrews 5:8-9, 10:14) for us.  We are told to stop looking at the circumstances and suffering that we might focus on the eternal work in us instead, things which last as new vessels will be provided in the resurrection of life with incorruptible bodies (1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Peter 1:4) away from the presence of corrupting sin that breaks down clay and into His presence with everlasting glory.  In Christ we are invincible! 

2 Corinthians 4:1-6 - Light of Christ’s Gospel

2 Corinthians 4:1-6

1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, 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. 

3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 

5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the light (John 8:12) of the world!  We all are born into the darkness of sin’s curse for which we deserve death as a reward, yet Christ hung on the tree of the curse to fulfill the perfect keeping of God’s Law for us by suffering the curse of sin and death for us by His goodness of grace.  This is the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, by which God has called us out of the hopelessness of the dark into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9-10) which is shined into our hearts and souls by the Lord entering into us as He delivers us in such a great salvation.  This is the ministry entrusted to we who are in Christ now, to share this mercy and not give up or lose heart in the seeming futility of facing deaf ears to what we offer as we are continually rejected for the gospel we bear witness to.  What then?  We do not try to make the gospel relevant to reach others through craftiness or deceit to spring the gospel through trickery, but we continue to offer it the way Jesus and the apostles have shown us in demonstrating the truth of our sinful condition from birth and the only way to life through turning from sin (repentance) to Him by believing and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior (John 1:12).  This we do to keep a good conscience with God who saved us this way and with men and women who we bear this witness of unworthy grace to.  When the gospel message remains hidden it is because the ears of those set for destruction (Romans 9:22-23) refuse to listen and turn that they might be saved from the works of darkness they refuse to let go of (John 3:19-21) instead of coming towards the light of God in Christ to expose their hopeless works (Romans 3:20, 6:23) and accept Christ’s work as the only way (Acts 4:12, John 14:6) to be reconciled with God and have our sins covered.  God’s light in the image of Jesus Christ must shine on each of us to be saved from our just judgment we have all earned as the wages of sin from the inheritance of Adam and our own corrupt natures passed down to us since the original sin of disobedience and disbelief in God’s word at Eden’s Garden.  This is the light of the good news we bear as servants to all the world as we preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23) and risen from death to life as Sovereign Lord over all creation that we might share in eternal new life in Him (John 5:24) through faith in what He has done and offers us.  God commanded light to shine out of the darkness in the first creation (Genesis 1:3) that He might now shine again into our souls in regeneration to bring us back to life in a new creation (Galatians 2:20) with this knowledge of Him revealing His glory in the face of Jesus Christ in whom we now live!  This is the light of Christ’s gospel, not just the hope of escaping Hell and torment (1 John 4:18), but of seeing God face to face in the end by His goodness that called us out of the darkness of sin into such marvelous light in His presence (Revelation 21:23) of forgiving grace and mercy.  This explains the Light of Christ’s Gospel which reconciles us sinners with our holy God. 

2 Corinthians 3:1-18 - The Veil is Lifted!

2 Corinthians 3:1-18

Christ’s Epistle (cf. Jer. 31:31–34)

1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? 2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

The Spirit, Not the Letter

4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Glory of the New Covenant

7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.

12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— 13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

We are all letters written by God to one another of His wonderful grace of deliverance from sin’s consequences, having been transferred from his wrath on our rebellious sin to intimate fellowship with Him in Christ with one another!  When we make disciples through the gospel and teach them all things (Matthew 28:19-20), we are adding more stories of the grace of God in Jesus Christ to the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 13:8) whose names are already inscribed there on God’s heart.  Paul called these Corinthian believers his letter of commendation therefore because they reflected his work in the gospel to bring them into Christ and further into maturity in Him through teaching and preaching the scriptures for their spiritual understanding and edification.  He calls us all to do the same in varying degrees according to the gifts and callings given us (Ephesians 2:10) as prepared to be done for one another to His glory, honor, and praise.  These letters we help write are on inscribed people’s hearts by God’s Spirit and not in rote on stone tablets as the Law once was given to His people through Moses.  These are living epistles of God’s word on each heart that He has entered to seal as His own with the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) giving spiritual awareness to the mind and love in the heart as a sign of His work and presence (John 13:35, 1 John 4:12, 16, 20) in a true believer we call ‘Christian.’   Yes, our sufficiency is from God and His work in us and not by what we earn by doing good, for the good we do has been planned and is our duty (Luke 17:10) as expected all along while we follow in our Master’s footsteps.  The letter of the Law in following rules to earn life (Galatians 3:10-12) only brings the curse of disobedience on us since we are utterly unable to keep every point (James 2:10); only trust in God’s work according to His word (John 6:29, 40) can deliver us and then we are enabled by His indwelling Spirit to obey that same Law now written on our hearts instead of mere rules of a checklist in our minds alone.  Such it the wonderful work of God in Christ in our deliverance and acceptance by faith!  The Law on cold stone that Moses brought as a precursor to this work of God in us faded with the glow of God’s temporary glory on the outside of Moses’s face to indicate the coming glory of imputed righteousness in Christ to us that can never fade or leave us.  The veil covering access to God’s glory in the holy of holies has been per and forever lifted from us to give unfettered access directly to the Father through Christ as our only Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5); no man or woman can meditate as our priest or “mediatrix” but Jesus Christ alone as the Son of God.  Turning to God in Him sets us free at last!  Then with no more face of God hidden from us (Hebrews 4:16) we find that He is daily transforming us in our sanctification by that same Spirit in us In ever increasing glory!  The veil is lifted.  What a wonderful gift God has given!  

2 Corinthians 2:1-17 - Triumph through Sorrow

2 Corinthians 2:1-17

1 But I determined this within myself, that I would not come again to you in sorrow. 2 For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me?

Forgive the Offender

3 And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all. 4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you.

5 But if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe. 6 This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, 7 so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 9 For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. 10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Triumph in Christ

12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, 13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.

14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

We see sorrow in dealing with sin and putting it to death through forgiveness but we also are called to consider the triumphant life in Jesus Christ through the gospel.  This is why Paul had addressed gross sin at the church in Corinth with the determination of the emphasis on the outcome of triumph over the sin and not having to deal with it any further.  He rejoiced in the ones made sorrowful who dealt with the offense and emerged in triumph through repentance.  Yes, he looked forward to returning and having such joy as he wrote to them in the first letter to the Corinthians.  He shed many tears and had such anguish in his heart until he heard that the sin had been dealt with in a godly manner.  He did these things out of overflowing love for them as a good shepherd of Jesus Christ and not for his own sake or as if it was his own doing apart from Christ ministering through him.  He commended the church for their disciplinary actions in dealing with tough love in grace to the offender but pleaded with them to not forget to follow that with compassion and comfort to the repentant one to complete the church discipline as Jesus taught in Matthew 18:15–20 and reiterated in 1 Corinthians 5:12 as being the duty of the church to deal in this way with sin within the body and not to judge those in the world who are apart from Christ.  This is all to common a mistake to point out the sin of the lost and judge them when the word has already put them under judgment (John 12:48); we are called to church discipline to deal with fellow believers in sin, but not to condemn with fault-finding as we endeavor to confront and restore them to fellowship.  If we fail to forgive and seek restoration, we give the adversary the upper hand as he takes advantage of our misplaced attitude of non-confrontational actions.  We must not be ignorant of his devices to keep us from dealing with sinners in love for restoration as we attack and condemn those for whom Christ died to cover their sins in eternal forgiveness.  The apostle then linked this to how God always leads us in triumph in Christ as He diffuses His presence through us wherever we go in His name to minister the full gospel of dealing with sin in love and the deliverance from sin to both unbelievers and those within the church body.  We are to live and act as Jesus taught that we are like the fragrance of sacrificial incense of living sacrifices (Romans 12:1, 1 Peter 2:5, 9-10) to bring life and triumph over death and condemnation of judgment.  Therefore we also are to live in sincerity and love as we offer life in the forgiveness of sin with the sincere and clear gospel of hope and victory without adulterating the message with added requirements or prohibitions of our own making.  May we so preach the gospel of peace to answer the bad news of our sin’s eternal consequences with eternal life in the forgiveness and grace of Jesus Christ.  This is triumph through sorrow to those within and without the church. 

2 Corinthians 1:12-24 - Sincerity in Service

2 Corinthians 1:12-24

Paul’s Sincerity

12 For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. 13 For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end 14 (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Sparing the Church

15 And in this confidence I intended to come to you before, that you might have a second benefit— 16 to pass by way of you to Macedonia, to come again from Macedonia to you, and be helped by you on my way to Judea. 17 Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, that with me there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No? 18 But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. 20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

23 Moreover I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. 24 Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand.

Paul demonstrated sincerity in service to the Lord as he ministered the gospel of grace to the churches as a pattern for us to follow.  He was sincere in transparently presenting the truths of God in Christ with simplicity and in a clear conscience that knew he did all he could to tell the whole truth so help him God.  He did not employ worldly philosophical or intellectual methods to manipulate or coerce the hearers, but by an open exhibition of his manner of life (2 Timothy 3:10) and conduct with declarations of grace to them all.  He lived the gospel and spoke the gospel with a clear conscience by his transparency and sincerity.  He therefore wrote this letter about spiritual things already known to them through the scriptures as a reminder and encouragement of their faith already being expressed and acknowledged by the apostle as apparent.  Confidently, Paul was coming back to see them again in person on his way through Macedonia with thankfulness for their support in the past as he had planned to do to see them and impart spiritual grace (Romans 1:11) and further teaching.  He let them know that he did not plan these things lightly but with foresight and care to minister there.  He planned with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and not his own drawn up plans to speak the truths of God’s word with certainty according to God’s faithfulness of yes and no and not his own contrived instructions or intentions.  He preached Christ Jesus as the yes answer to everything because all God’s promises in scripture are fulfilled in Him alone with absolute certainty to God’s glory!  He reminded them and we who also now read these words that God alone establishes us (Romans 16:25, 1 Thessalonians 3:2, 1 Peter 5:10, 1 John 2:20-21, 27) to minister to one another according to the gifts and callings given each one of us.  He who establishes us also anoints us and seals us with His Spirit as a guaranteed down payment on eternity!  Because He lives in us we have this certain hope of yes in Christ to eternal life in the grace of God and not by our works to earn or keep it.  Paul leaves off the thought of this chapter by calling God as his witness that he had their best spiritual state in his heart and so visited in the proper times to help them.  He made it clear that he did not rule over their faith but worked alongside them in the gospel.  Each one stands in his or her own faith before God; we simply minister to each other the grace we have been granted in the roles and callings using the gifts given each one individually (1 Corinthians 12:11, 27, 31) as He wills.  May we all who are in Christ be likened confident in humble service with sincerity. 

2 Corinthians 1:1-11 - Suffering and Comfort of Hope

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Greetings

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Comfort in Suffering

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 6 Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 7 And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

Delivered from Suffering

8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, 10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, 11 you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.

Paul wrote this epistle to show his thanks for the repentant majority at Corinth and to appeal to the rebellious minority there to accept his authority and turn from sin to Him as well.  He conveyed the truths of suffering with the comfort of hope in Jesus Christ as their hope and ours.  He began by reminding the readers and hearers of this communication that he was called to be an apostle, one who was an eyewitness of Christ, that gave him unique authority to proclaim and explain God’s word as the prophets of old delivered the word of God to His people.  This was God’s choice and not Paul’s to be an apostle and messenger of the gospel as the other of the original twelve.  Paul was therefore given the authority to address the doctrine and practice of the errant believers in writing which has become authoritative scripture for us as well in the church.  He conveyed God’s grace and peace of the gospel that had recon those who were in Christ as that mouthpiece of the Lord before continuing in exhorting and encouraging those who were in Jesus there.  He opened the discourse with the promises of comfort from the Lord in their suffering which we all still find invaluable as we read nearly two thousand years later.  It is the blessed God Himself who is merciful to us in lavishing comfort on we the people of His kingdom!  He comforts us in all pressing hard times not only to relieve our suffering (2 Corinthians 7:5-7) , but also to provide us with the experience and practical wisdom to in turn help others who suffer as ones who have trod the path before.  We share these sufferings as a body together in Christ that we might be strengthened by our Lord together as we minister to each other.  We suffer for Christ and for His sake of the gospel (Romans 8:16-17) which the world rejects and opposes daily that He might console us and build our reliance and trust in His mercy and grace.  We suffer shame and danger that others may be saved from sin’s punishment through this word of hope (2 Corinthians 4:15) and receive comfort in return to bolster our resolve and not give up in the battle.  Paul knew that his readers would understand this and his hope in them was a steadfast hope in their faith given and sustained by the Lord as they suffered and were consoled by God as reminded of by the apostle’s words.  He then reminded them of his own suffering that seemed to completely overwhelm him and his fellow laborers in the gospel such as Timothy.  They were so overwhelmed that they sometimes even despaired of life its as the end seemed imminent, yet that death sentence only affirmed the love of God in Christ’s resurrection as their hope after death.  That assurance drove them into hope while facing tribulations and possible death!  They trusted the Lord over the pressing circumstances (1 Corinthians 16:9-10) with trust in their deliverance to continue in serving the risen Lord.  He also thanked them for their prayers in their ministry to sustain them and keep them safe and secure in this work of the gospel and admonished them to give God thanks as well for His work of delivering them from suffering and death.  We are in this calling together as a body in Christ with Him as our head who calls, enables, and uses each of us in different ways to reach the lost who have been chosen and will be called out as we preach and teach the good news (Romans 10:14-15) of deliverance from sin’s just due and the free grace of mercy to set them free from the bondage of sin and into relationship with Him whom we serve against all opposition and odds of rejection.  This calling is our necessary suffering and promised comfort of divine hope that never fails. 

1 Corinthians 16:1-24 - Loving Support and Encouragement

1 Corinthians 16:1-24

Collection for the Saints

1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: 2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. 3 And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. 4 But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.

Personal Plans (cf. Acts 19:21)

5 Now I will come to you when I pass through Macedonia (for I am passing through Macedonia). 6 And it may be that I will remain, or even spend the winter with you, that you may send me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not wish to see you now on the way; but I hope to stay a while with you, if the Lord permits.

8 But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. 9 For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

10 And if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do. 11 Therefore let no one despise him. But send him on his journey in peace, that he may come to me; for I am waiting for him with the brethren.

12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brethren, but he was quite unwilling to come at this time; however, he will come when he has a convenient time.

Final Exhortations

13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done with love.

15 I urge you, brethren—you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints— 16 that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us.

17 I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for what was lacking on your part they supplied. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men.

Greetings and a Solemn Farewell

19 The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. 20 All the brethren greet you.  Greet one another with a holy kiss.  21 The salutation with my own hand—Paul’s.

22 If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!

23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

This letter ends with an ask of spiritual and monetary support for the ministry of the gospel with encouraging words of grace and love in Christ Jesus for the saints in Corinth and to the larger audience of all churches, including ours in the present day.  For meeting needs monetarily, Paul asked that everyone put aside their gifts ahead of time that they would not be missed or delayed by organizing a collection as he passed through on the way to distribute to those in need that Paul was taking them to.  We can equate this roughly to pledging a certain amount for missions or other special needs we identify so we know when it is due exa what we have to donate to the ministry and not miss any opportunities.  For spiritual support, Paul laid out his travel plans that he intended to follow bar any changes which the Lord might provide along the way according to the scriptural principle in Proverbs 16:9 and Proverbs 19:21 for allowing God to guide us while not ignoring our responsibility to make plans with the thought that if the Lord wills (James 4:15), we will do this or that as we serve God and man.  Paul made this clear when he said in verse 7 that he hoped to stay with them a while on the way “if the Lord permits.”  The apostle was very aware of the opposition to the gospel, especially in Ephesus, and asked for spiritual support in the form of prayers for the gospel to shine through this present darkness there (Galatians 1:4, Ephesians 6:18-19) because of the door of opportunity opened there by God for the gospel.  We likewise should watch and pray for the proclamation message of hope in spite of and in the face of opposition, both of others and our own as we have opportunity.  He also asked of prayer and honor to his fellow workers in the gospel, naming Timothy who was on his way and Apollos who was detained.  He summed up his encouragement by praying that the readers and hearers of this letter would remain watchful in these days and stand firmly on the rock of their faith in the immovable Christ that they might face opposition with spiritual strength and bravery.  This applies to all believers in every age as we labor in love (1 Peter 4:8, 10-11) in all we do for the Lord and each other.  We are to acknowledge and honor those who labor in the word of the gospel and also those who refresh and encourage those who are on the front lines.  May we greet each other as we meet in our travels among different churches as we realize we are all part of the true catholic church, not the Roman version, but the universal one consisting of all regenerated believers across the world who all are saints made holy in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  We are also warned of those enemies of Jesus Christ who do not love Him in word and truth of action nor the gospel, that such people face being accursed (anathema) for rejecting Him with promoting false gospels (Galatians 1:8-9) of empty hope and lies.  But God’s grace keeps we who are in Christ and His love as we experience in our love for one another as well.  This truly is a love letter to us encouraging Loving Support and Encouragement for the workers of the gospel and one another supporting them. Grace and peace to all who share in Him.  Amen!  

1 Corinthians 15:35-58 - Victorious over Death’s Sting!

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

A Glorious Body

35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” 36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. 37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.

40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

Our Final Victory

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

55 “O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

In Christ we are victorious over death’s sting of sin!  Sin’s penalty has been vanquished by the sacrifice of His atoning death followed by resurrection to life for all who die in Him and live again (John 5:24, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22)!  He begins this passage by reminding us that these corruptible bodies will be raised in a new form without the corrupting effects of sin that wears us down to death in such short lifetimes.  This corruption affects both body and soul, and the new birth deals with the regeneration of our spirits, our lives, while the resurrection to come after death makes all things new including our frail bodies ravaged by sin when sin is put to death and we experience the full life God designed in the beginning of creation.  We will be raised in honor, glory, and strength in this spiritual body of incorruptible construction as originally intended if we had chosen the tree of life (Genesis 3:22-23) instead of the one sinfully distrusting God’s word and imagining ourselves knowing good and evil better that the omniscient and omnipotent God who wanted to teach us right from wrong (Hebrews 5:14) as we went along.  This first man Adam was made a living being infused with the very breath of God, His Spirit of life but fell into sin passed down to everyone through him (Romans 5:12-14).  The second man who is the divine Son of God and perfect sinless man is the life-giving spirit of our Creator!  This Lord from out of heaven came to save us from the corruption of sin on our bodies and souls by giving us His life through His sacrificial death as He covered our sins as no temporary animal sacrifice could since He killed the first to cover our sins in the beginning (Genesis 3:21) and repeatedly instructed His priests to do yearly for our temporary atonement in the temple.  We are born in the image of the man created out of dust but now are given the image of the man from heaven, Jesus Christ, as a foretaste of eternal life in bodies more like angels than Adam, incorruptible and free from the effects of sin leading to suffering and death that we now live under until the resurrection of completion.  Only then in these bodies freed from sin’s reign over us can we inherit the kingdom of God and stand in His holy presence forever as in the beginning in Eden’s Garden.  That is our certain hope if we are in Christ now before death (Hebrews 9:27-28); we will be raised in bodies that are sinless and incorruptible, and then we will put on immortality as Isaiah 25:8 tells us that, “Death is swallowed up in victory.”  The sting of sin, death, will be wiped away forever to all found in Christ when we die!  The keeping of the law always had the flaw of corruption remaining in us but the grace of God by faith in Christ’s work (John 6:29) gives us the eternal victory in and through our Lord Jesus Christ as no amount of our fallible good works could ever hope to achieve!  Because of this hope, we are to be confident in all we do as we remain steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord and His gospel of peace with God and this eternal hope that cannot disappoint.  We are victorious over death’s sting in Him.  Amen and amen!  Come quickly, Lord Jesus!