Day #338

Sermon - Audio
2 Cor 1-4 - Reading
2 Cor 1-4 - Audio

Daily Insights - Please Comment

• 1.1: Paul is Christ’s apostle, but he is that by or according to the purpose and will of God. As Paul gets ready to defend his work for God and his apostleship he lays out his credentials in these opening verses.1.2: Peace is the great hope of the Old Testament. It is the word in Greek eirene, in Hebrew shalom; it is a word that speaks of all of God’s blessings that flow from belonging to Christ and living in his kingdom.
• 1.2: There is a change in the way that Jesus is spoken of after his resurrection. In the gospels Jesus is most often called “Jesus” and at times Lord or Christ. But after the resurrection he is called the Lord Jesus or the Lord Jesus Christ.
• 1.4: The purpose of our suffering is to make us into people who can comfort others who are dealing with suffering. If we can discern no other purpose for suffering, we should always use it to touch the lives of others. Our comfort can be given in words, in deeds, in speaking of how God has sustained us.
• 1.12: Simplicity and sincerity are words that speak of being a person of decency, strong moral principles, and honesty. It is a person who can be trusted and whose actions have shown it.
• 1.20: All of God’s promises both that have happened and will happen come because of the person and work of Christ. Jesus Christ is central to our future and to the promises yet to be. This is another reminder of the importance of the resurrection. If Christ is not raised, God’s promises are not and will not be fulfilled for they rely on a living Christ.
• 2 Corinthians 1.23: Paul’s desire to spare the people of Corinth reflects his Christ-likeness. What Paul is sparing them from is judgment for their actions and way of life. He will first extend mercy and salvation from a distance. If he comes he would have to bring judgment. This reflects Christ who comes first not to judge but to bring salvation. This reality is especially seen in Jesus’ interactions with John the Baptist. From prison John asks Jesus if he is the coming one—which is a title that implies judgment. Jesus’ response is to quote two passages from Isaiah, but he skips the part of the passage that speaks of judgment.
• 2.6: The “majority” is the main body of the church at Corinth. While the opposition to Paul is strong, it does not involve everyone. The punishment was most likely excommunication. The word for punish in the Greek implies causing people to suffer what they deserve. In this case, the one who seeks to destroy the community gets put out of the community he is destroying. Thus, he experiences what would result if he were successful in his attempts. When he sees and experiences it, he is filled with sorrow.
• 2.11: Satan’s scheme is to divide and destroy the church. He will accomplish this if the one who has caused pain isn’t forgiven.
• 2.14: Paul launches into a defense of his ministry and apostleship at this point. This defense will continue until 2 Corinthians 7.4. The defense is long because the opposition to Paul and his authority in Corinth is strong.
• 2.14: The triumphal procession was one of the great celebrations in the Roman Empire. It took place when a general has won a decisive victory that brought an end to a war. In that victory at least 5000 enemy soldiers were killed and Rome’s territory was expanded. When all of this occurred a time of great celebration with the general being the one who was honored took place. Paul sees Jesus in the place of the general.
• 2.15: We are the aroma of Christ to God both to believers and non-believers. We seek to smell good to God and then we allow that aroma to spread to all people around us.
• 3.2: Paul points out that his letters of recommendation are the lives of those who have heard his message and believed in Jesus. The fact that they came to faith through his preaching shows that he is a legitimate apostle.
• 3.7-8: Paul draws a comparison between the old and new covenant. The old covenant was something of such
• great glory that when Moses received it his face literally glowed from glory. If the first covenant was full of that kind of glory how much more the glory of the new covenant that is brought by the Spirit.
• 3.14-16: The people still cannot see the glory of God because of their hardened hearts. Paul holds that only through Christ can people see God’s glory and the glory of the new covenant.
• 2 Corinthians 4.1: Given the struggles that Paul has to go through to bring the message of God’s New Covenant to the world, it would be easy to lose heart. But when he sees the amazing message he is bringing by God’s mercy it keeps him going. The ability to keep going is centered on God and his message, not on the results or the struggles to bring the message.
• 4.4: “blinded” is a word that means to cause someone to no longer have the capacity for understanding.
• 4.13: Paul quotes from Psalm 116.10. In this Psalm the psalmist speaks of being afflicted as a righteous person.
• 4.15: Paul’s ministry has a dual purpose. It is so grace goes to more and more people, so the veil is lifted from their lives and ultimately so that God’s glory is extended in the world.