Display. Discover. Dig Deeper. 1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

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2 1Paul, 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: 2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If 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. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 1. Who does Paul list as his co-author of this letter? Why might he have chosen this particular compatriot? 2. Why does Paul feel that the suffering he has endured is a good thing? 3. Why, according to Paul, do Christians experience times of distress? Paul stands firm in the belief that God has been at work in any suffering that he has gone through and any comfort that he has received. It is easy for us to recognize that comfort comes from God but we re not usually as quick to acknowledge that the sufferings of Christ must also flow into our lives because we are His people. Do you embrace suffering and persecution as a sign that you are the Messiah s, or do you try to avoid suffering? Just recently I found a box full of letters that my wife had kept. The letters were from me when I was in college and we were dating. As I read a few of them, the thing that struck was, regardless of the length of the letter, I could immediately tell how I was feeling and what was on my mind in the first few lines of the letter. That s the way it is for most people that write letters. Paul s second recorded letter to the Corinthians is no different. We find out immediately what he is feeling, what is on his mind, and what the rest of this letter is going to be about. It doesn t take us long in this letter to realize that something has changed in the relationship between Paul and the Corinthians since he wrote the letter that we know as 1 Corinthians. Paul begins this letter in much the same way as he begins many of his other letters which was in a standard letter form for his day. Usually, though, he expands the greeting a bit, but this time he forgoes that, using a nearly standard greeting for his time. Paul, seemingly wants to get right to the point of his letter. He does, however, set some things down in the first two verse which lay the foundation for what he will say in the rest of the letter. Paul stresses that he is an apostle or messenger, sent by Jesus Christ, but only at the will of God. Paul, in that statement, is showing that he feels he is a legitimate apostle because he has been chosen by the same will of the same God that sent Jesus as Messiah in the first place. We should also note that the scope of Paul s letter has widened. His first letter was just to Corinth, but in this letter all the are added. This demonstrates that the gospel has been spreading during the two-or-so years in between letters. Paul probably wants this letter to circulate throughout the entire area of which Corinth is a hub, to ensure that the opposition to him that has arisen in Corinth does note spread to the whole area. It was not possible to gain government recognition and secure a public building, so responding to false teaching was difficult. The only way to address common concerns was to circulate a letter like this one. With the initial greetings out of the way, Paul moves into his opening prayer, which will let us know quickly what he is feeling and what the topic of this letter is going to be. It becomes quite obvious that Paul is consumed with thoughts of comfort and suffering. It is striking that there are 31 specific references to comfort ( ) and comforting ( ) in the New Testament; of those, 25 appear in Paul s writings. Of those 25, 17 appear in 2 Corinthians and ten of those are in verses 3-7 of chapter 1. When one is mentioning comfort that often, it stands to reason that the presence of much suffering and affliction must be near. In fact, the term for affliction ( ) appears only 45 times in the New Testament, 9 of them are in 2 Corinthians and 4 of those are in these verses here. Similarly, the word for suffering ( ) appears 16 times in the New Testament; of those, 9 appear in Paul s writings, 3 are found in 2 Corinthians, all being in these few verses here. So, why is Paul so focused on suffering and comfort? Much has happened in the short time between these letters. Situations have arisen which have caused Paul and the Corinthians great grief and have necessitated a switch from the gentle, teaching tone of the first letter to the more direct tone in the second letter, that leaves Paul justifying his own ministry to the very church that he helped create. The things that have happened will come out in the letter as we proceed, but we do need to fill in some gaps between the two letters. We know that Paul wrote at least four letters to the Church in Corinth. His first letter is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5:9, then the letter we know as 1 Corinthians, than came the severe letter referred to in 2 Corinthians 2:3-4, and finally 2 Corinthians. Paul had sent Timothy to Corinth as he had promised (1 Cor. 16:10-11). Once there, Timothy found the situation in Corinth had escalated with the appearance of Paul s critics. Paul apparently decides to go to Corinth immediately to smooth things over, but the result has just the opposite effect. Paul would describe this as a very painful visit (2 Cor. 2:1), as the church called into question Paul s authority and his version of the gospel. These other teachers had deceived many of the Corinthians into accepting a different gospel (cf. 2 Cor. 11:4). Paul then left Corinth for Ephesus in the midst of this rebellion against his apostolic authority (2 Cor. 1:23-2:5; 7:12). This was not, however, a cowardly act of running from the problem as the false apostles had portrayed it (2 Cor. 10:10-11; 11:20-21). While in Ephesus, Paul sent Titus with the painful and severe letter, warning them of God s judgment and calling them to repent (2 Cor. 2:3-4; 7:8-16). Paul later reunited with Titus and discovered that his severe letter had caused the repentance of most of the Church (2 Cor. 2:5-11; 7:5-16). There was still a presence of rebellion against Paul, however, so he wrote 2 Corinthians from Macedonia, somewhere between 1-3 years after 1 Corinthians, and began to make plans to return to Corinth for the third time (2 Cor. 12:14; 13:1). One thing that we need to remember, in order to make this section and the rest of the letter clear, concerning Paul s way of thinking is that he believes that what is true of the Messiah is true of His people, and vice-versa. As we will see, some in Corinth wanted a Christian life that was all about victory and comfort, rather than suffering. Paul reminds his fellow Christians that when we are truly in Christ, we will experience both. Paul has been living out the life of the Messiah and makes it clear that because of that status, everything he does is out of concern for others, a point he taught throughout 1 Corinthians. Now they are seeing that in living color. Paul s critics were claiming that his suffering and weaknesses were a sign that he was not a true apostle. Paul says, though, that he must go through suffering precisely because he is a true apostle, and he has unashamedly suffered because, in the end, it is for their benefit. Everything Paul does, he does for their sake, which is always the sign of true Christianity.

3 8We 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. 9Indeed, 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. 10He 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, 11as 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. 12Now 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 worldly wisdom but according to God's grace. 13For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, 14as 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. 1. Why does Paul mention his great suffering in the opening chapter of this letter? 2. Why, in Paul s mind, does God allow his people to suffer? 3. Why does Paul find it acceptable to boast of the way he has conduted himself with the Corinthians? To get to the point that we face our own death and actually despair of life is probably the lowest point to which anyone can get. Yet, the best thing anyone can do, is to get to that point and then realize that they must trust God. We need to realize that our sufferings are not a sign of God s displeasure or a proof of his lack of his existence. They are a vehicle through which we can learn to trust more fully in our God and creator. I couldn t believe the scene I was observing during a volunteer workday, as I saw a young man constantly whine about all of his problems. He was complaining to an older man about how little sleep he had gotten the night before. It didn t just stop there, though, he continued to lament about how much his back and shoulder hurt from playing basketball and how difficult this made it for him to work. The older man listened patiently, never telling the younger man that he was currently suffering from a debilitating disease that would eventually take his life. That s the odd thing about suffering. Usually those that complain about it the loudest, haven t really experienced it. Those who have truly suffered don t often mention it much. Paul was a man that suffered greatly but didn t talk about it much unless he had a specific point to make. He didn t make a show out of his suffering, so when he does talk about it, we should sit up and take notice. What exactly happened to Paul is a mystery. He never gives us the details, and it is highly unlikely, at this point, that we will ever discover them. Whatever happened, we know that Paul endured incredible suffering in Ephesus. Some of it may be described in Acts 19, during the riot in the theater. This may have simply been the alarm clock that awakened the people in Ephesus to what a threat Paul and his teaching could truly be. This may have opened Paul up to great persecution, as people don t take kindly to something that they perceive as a threat to their way of life. To add to what was happening in Asia, Paul was dealing with the incredible difficulties that were arising in his relationship with the Corinthians. This all left Paul in a terrible mental state. He talks in terms like despairing of life, which in our world would get him classified as clinically depressed. Paul s response to this is incredible, especially for us who live in a world where any hardships lead most to get angry at God and reject Christianity. Rather than seeing his great persecution and resulting mental state as a reason to be angry with God, Paul sees it as a reason to praise Him. God was using this situation to teach Paul to rely on Him. This is a startling realization considering that Paul had already taught that he owed everything he was able to do to the grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:10). What this shows us was that Paul still had some things to learn about relying on God and the meaning of the resurrection of Christ in the daily lives of Christians. Not only that, but Paul also believes he suffered but was not crushed because God delivered him. Paul has a theology that is not extremely popular in our day of user-friendly Christianity that is all about living your best and most comfortable life possible. He absolutely believes that God will deliver him from any deadly and dangerous situations in his life, but God will not keep him from those situations. Paul knows of no such thing as a trouble-free life, despite what is taught in our day, and as we will see in this letter, what was also being taught in his day. God will not keep us from trials but He will deliver us through them as we learn to rely on Him alone. Paul s critics would have had great folly with his sufferings. For most people in the ancient world, suffering was a sign of God s punishment and disfavor. Not so, says Paul. The suffering is not at all a sign of God s disfavor, but rather a sign that He wants his child to trust Him more fully. This was not a common or very popular message in Paul s day, anymore than it is in ours. Yet, he wants the Corinthians to understand that this is part of the world-changing message of the gospel. Paul desires that they should pray for him. Prayer matters and Paul needs theirs. When many people pray for something and it comes to pass, the thanksgiving will be all the more. For Paul when people worship and give thanksgiving to God something in the universe is set right again. The world is out of whack in a way that only giving thanks to God will set right. Worship is the way things were meant to be, and so engaging in it is a sign of what the world will be like one day. It is this God of whom Paul will boast. Not the one who gives Paul everything for which he could possibly imagine but the one who allows him to endure suffering so that he may learn all the more to rely on God. Paul will freely boast about the things he has endured and learned because it gives glory to God (see 1 Corinthians 1:31; 15:9; 2 Corinthians 10:17; Romans 5:2; 15:17; Galatians 6:4; Philippians 3:3). We tend to view any boasting as inappropriate, but for Paul, it is not the act of boasting that makes the determination of whether or not it is acceptable, it is the content. Part of Paul s boast is the work that he has done with the Corinthians and the way he has conducted himself with them. He has lived with all holiness and sincerity among them, but this is not a boast in himself, because his ability to do so comes from God. In his defense of his actions among them in verses 12-13, we begin to see some of the charges being leveled against Paul by his critics in Corinth. One charge must have been that Paul had something to hide, there was more to his conduct than met the eye. To that Paul responds that he has lived a life characterized not by shadows but by holiness and sincerity. Another charge against Paul was that he had hidden motives. To this charge, Paul answers that his conduct was not controlled by shrewdness or playing angles, but by God s grace, given to him so freely. The third charge that Paul beings to answer is that he didn t always say what he meant. Paul says, however, that everything he writes is straightforward, understandable, and exactly what he means. Paul s conscience is clear, he has nothing to hide, and he wants, above all, the Corinthians to be able to fully trust in the message that he has for them.

4 15Because I was confident of this, I planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. 16I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. 17When 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"? 18But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." 19For 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." 20For 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. 21Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 1. Why does Paul feel that his change of plans demonstrates that he is led by the Spirit and not the flesh as some had charged? 2. Why should the Christian avoid oaths? 3. What do each of the three affirmative answers from God mean to you personally? One of the primary lessons that Paul weaves into nearly everything he teaches the Corinthians is the need for them to no longer regard things from a human point of view but from God s. This is precisely what he is trying to teach them here. In what areas of your life do you still view things more from a human point of view than you do from God s? What steps do you need to take to truly transform your mind in these areas? When I first became a Christian I had a very immature attitude towards the leadership of the Church of which I was a part. I felt like everything that they did reflected the truth of the message that they were speaking. In my mind they were more than just representatives of God s message, they were supposed to be the complete embodiment of it. If they failed in some way (at least in my opinion) then I would question the Church as a whole, and even God. One time, I recall not liking the way that one of the ministers of the Church behaved during a sporting event. That caused me to completely judge whether or not he was truly a man of God. It wasn t an issue of sin, it was an issue of, whether (in my mind) a true man of God would act like that. This is precisely what was going on in Corinth. Paul had made plans for an extended visit to Corinth, but then had to change his plans to two shorter visits. This just provided more fodder for Paul s critics who began to charge that this was yet another demonstration that he was no man of God. In their minds, no apostle would behave that indecisively. This was further evidence that he was not a legitimate apostle. God was a sure God who never changes, they reasoned, so his servant should be able to rely consistently on God s guidance, not change his plans from one minute to the next. Rather than his schedule reflecting the consistency of the God who never changes, his critics charged that he made his decisions according to the flesh, that the Spirit was not at all at work in Paul s ministry. His critics charged that no true ministry led by the Spirit would like this. Behavior like this raised questions in his critics mind (although they were apparently quick to jump on anything Paul did and examine it for fault) and they were trying to raise these same questions in everyone else s minds. If they couldn t trust Paul when it came to everyday things and promises, how could they trust him in the big things he was telling them about God, God s nature, and how God worked? Paul s answer is that, once again, what they perceived as a sign of his weakness, or that he wasn t truly from God, is actually quite the opposite. He is firmly in the ministry and dispensation of God s grace. His plans changed precisely because he is being led by the Spirit. Not coming immediately by sea, but rather coming more slowly by land would serve the dual benefit of getting to see them twice so that they might doubly benefit, but it would also give Paul the opportunity to send messengers ahead to prepare them for his visit. After his last, disastrous visit, Paul doesn t want to show up and find them unprepared for his visit. Paul, though, is confident that his plans didn t change because a lack of God s guidance. No, they changed because of Paul s response to God s grace in his life. They need to know and trust that Paul s plans changed because of God s guidance not in spite of it. Because Paul is so confident of that, he reminds them that he doesn t need to swear an oath by saying a double yes or double no (in the Jewish world the repetition guaranteed the truth of what was being said). He doesn t need to do that, because his faithful witness that comes from God needs only one yes or no. This is the precisely the point Jesus laid down for His followers when he urged them to stay away from oaths, letting their yes be yes and their no be no (Matt. 5:33-37). Paul is not trying to string them along with a false yes when he has no intention of coming. His ministry comes from God and is characterized by yes. There are, as Paul will describe, three areas that God s answer is an affirmative one. First, Paul says that all the promises God has given to his people concerning solving the problem of exile between God and man, and death and sin have been answered decisively yes through Jesus Christ. Christ is the fulfillment of all of God s promises, and in fact, He is the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament. What this does not mean (as some prosperity gospel teachers are quick to assert) that all of the promises of natural wealth made specifically to the Old Covenant Jews will be fulfilled by being a Christian. What Paul means is that all of the natural things, like wealth, pointed to, have been fulfilled by and made complete in Christ. The one who Christ has all he or she needs; we don t have Christ we can get all that we supposedly need. Second, Paul says the Amen is lifted up to God s glory. Everything that God does can be affirmed by those in Christ with an amen (literally let it be so ) because we know that God is faithful and whatever He does is for our benefit in the long run. Third, Paul says that we have a positive response from God by enabling us to. If the purpose of the Christian life is to enter into the life of the Messiah, then we have to grown into that assignment. God has confirmed our status with a definitive yes by offering us the means to stand firm and grow in the life of the Messiah so that what is true of Him is and will increasingly be true of us. This work of growth is enacted by the Spirit, and just as Paul described three affirmative responses of God s grace, he will now describe three aspects of the Spirit s work in enabling us to stand firm. The first aspect of this is that we are anointed. Messiah means the anointed one, and as we have seen, what is true of the Messiah is true of His people. If He has been set apart in the way that a King or Priest would have been, then so have we. We are co-heirs with him and share in his status as the anointed one of God. The second aspect is that we have been sealed by the Spirit. In the ancient world, a seal was placed on an item to show that it was the property of or came from the sealer and also to protect it from being broken into. God has sealed His people with the stamp of the Messiah Himself, demonstrating to the world that we share in His death and life, and thus, belong to Him. The third aspect is that we have the presence of the Spirit in our hearts (see Acts 2:38). This is a down-payment that guarantees that we will one day take part in the resurrection just as Christ, who has preceded us. We can t stress this too often, for it is the Christian hope. The Messiah has been resurrected, and because we share His life, so will we.

5 23I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. 24Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm. 1So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. 2For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? 3I wrote as I did so that when I came I should not be distressed by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. 4For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you. 1. If some of the Corinthians were engaging in rebellion against Paul, why would he not come immediately and discipline the responsible people? 2. Why would Paul feel that he would be grieved if he came to discipline them? 3. What are the advantages of Paul basing his authority on love rather than discipline? Paul demonstrated incredible love and patience for the Corinthians throughout this ordeal. Do you operate under the same sense of love and mercy that Paul did? Whether it be in church matters, at work, or with your wife and children, how would you do things differently if behaved (when appropriate) more like Paul did with the Corinthians? A few days ago I sent my four-year-old up to clean his room. Even though he is quite capable, he always tries to claim that he can t do it all by himself. I sent him up and told him that he had five minutes to pick up his toys. I would come in up five minutes and bring some discipline if his room wasn t picked up. After five minutes, though, I didn t go up. I sent his older brother up to remind him that he was supposed to be cleaning his room. A few minutes later then, I went up and he had finished. We could celebrate together that he had completed his task. Why didn t I go up after five minutes? Because I knew that his attention span would waver, that he wouldn t have completed his task, and that if I went up then, that I would have to make a painful visit focused on discipline. Instead, I gave him a little more time to get things together so that when I did come we could rejoice. This is something of the idea that Paul is telling the Corinthians here. Paul had changed his plans and had to inform the Corinthians that he was not coming. He didn t want to risk another painful visit like the last one. This opened him up to his critics, who now claimed that Paul was a coward who refused to face those who opposed him. So, rather than coming to Corinth for his planned lengthy visit, Paul returned to Ephesus where he wrote them a biting letter of warning that he mentions in verse 4 (a letter that has been lost to history). So, was Paul s change of plans a sign of fleshly, scattered thinking or even worse, a sign of cowardice? No, Paul serves a God of patience and mercy. Keep in mind, that Paul is not afraid of exercising his authority and bringing judgment (1 Cor. 4:21; 2 Cor. 5:1-13). But before judgment comes mercy. The Bible is replete with examples of God staying his judgment so that people could get their house in order. Paul wants to extend the same opportunity to the Corinthians. Paul calls God to be his sole witness to the fact that the reason he did not come was to spare them. In fact, the NIV simply drops what Paul actually says, losing the full brunt of his statement. He literally says, I call God as my witness against my life. He is willing to put his life on the line to show them that he is sincere. If he comes, he knows that he will find them unprepared as they were in their last visit. The previous letter, and this one, serve the same function as sending the older brother upstairs to remind the little brother to clean his room. Dad is coming soon and you d better get it together. Paul didn t fear rejection, he wished to spare them the judgment he would have to enact if he came to them as planned. If he had come in the middle of their rebellion, he would probably have had to throw some of them out of the Church (cf. 1 Cor. 5:1-5; 2 Cor. 5:12-13). He wished to avoid that, hoping that the extra time will give them the chance to repent and get things together. No, this wasn t an act of cowardice, it was a showing of humility and restraint. He was holding back his authority for their own benefit, not his. He was not going to lord his authority over them. Instead he chose to work with them to bring about joy. Yet, there is some advantage for Paul in handling things this way, and he is up front about it. If he had to make another painful visit, it would be as painful for him as it would be for them. Who would be there to encourage him? Paul s joy comes from seeing others succeed in Christ. If he has to enact discipline he will, but he would rather that a show of mercy and restraint bring about repentance and the subsequent joy. Their joy is his joy, so if his postponing his plans would give them time to repent and deal with the sinful attitudes, then when he did come, the trip would be a purely joyful one. His previous letter was designed to bring about their renewed faith, which would give Paul reason to rejoice. This would, in turn, give the opportunity for the Corinthians to share in Paul s joy and rejoice with him. In doing this, Paul is firmly rejecting the type of worldly authority that either lords it over others, or manipulates them into behaving a certain way. Paul rejects that type of power. He wants nothing to do with it. He prefers to work with the Corinthians as partners. His authority over them is based on and determined by his great love for them. When they suffer, he suffers. When they rejoice, he rejoices. This is exactly the point Paul made to them in 1 Corinthians 12:25, 26: there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Paul wants no part of attempting to beat the Corinthians into loving God. He would prefer that they serve God because of their love for and faith in Him. Above all, Paul wants to ensure that his actions don t come between the Corinthians and their faith in God. Instead Paul s actions are designed to mimic God s character so that they can see and experience God more fully. What Paul is demonstrating for the Corinthians and for us, is nothing less than true Christian leadership.

6 5If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent not to put it too severely. 6The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. 7Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven if there was anything to forgive I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. 1. Why does Paul say that the situation has grieved them, even though it most likely was criticism aimed at him? 2. Why is it so important for them to forgive the offender in question? 3. Why is it so vital to constantly remember that Satan is the true enemy? In verse 10, Paul reminds us that everything is done in the sight of Christ. Do you really live your life as though you were in Christ s presence all the time? Do you, at the appropriate times, administer loving discipline? Do you, at the appropriate times, truly forgive people? Make an effort this week to carry yourself, in all situations, as though you were under the gaze of Christ. As a teacher, one of the things I used to tell my students was that when we hate someone, we give them power over us. We give them the power to control our thoughts, energy, and emotion. When they ignored someone who was taunting or mistreating them, that person lost any power they might have had over them. Paul is operating on a similar principle, but is going one step further. He tells the Corinthians here that as Christians, they should not just ignore but forgive and forget what has been done against them. There are times when people will wrong us, and that is certainly the case for Paul and the Corinthians, but if we hold onto to that hur,t it will continue to have its bad effect on us. When we forgive, we take away the power of the other person to continue to hurt us. Thus, not only does forgiveness release the other person from their guilt, it also frees us from being continually hurt by their actions. Paul here specifically calls for the Corinthians to forgive someone in their congregation. In what we call Paul s first letter to the Corinthians, he laid out principles of wisdom and church discipline, including the need to remove at least one believer from the congregation for a time. Now Paul is helping them find the balance between discipline and forgiveness. There is definitely a time for discipline. It would, in fact be dangerous and counterproductive to bypass discipline and go right to forgiveness. Yet, once discipline has been appropriately administered, the time for true forgiveness cannot be ignored either. The first question that we need to attempt to answer is who Paul is talking about here. Some have speculated that he is referring to the immoral man from 1 Corinthians 5, but this doesn t really fit the circumstances very well. Far more likely is that Paul is referring to one of the people who slandered him and his apostolic relationship with the Corinthian Church. After the majority of the Church had repented as a result of his tearful letter (2 Cor. 2:4), they took action against the offender who had influenced them against Paul. They presumably punished him for divisiveness, or even slander, by excluding him from the body, following the principles laid down in 1 Corinthians 5. The action had its intended effect. The offender had repented for his actions and apparently wished to rejoin the community. Paul calls them to follow his example of not just enacting discipline when it was needed, but in extending mercy to those who had repented. Paul realized the flow of mercy should pass down to this man just as Christ had shown Paul mercy, Paul had then shown mercy to the Corinthians, and they should, in turn, show it to this man. Paul is worried that if they do not forgive him, the man will be overwhelmed by. It is time to release this this man from his guilt, but it is also time for them to be freed from his hurtful actions. As we said, Paul desires them to strike the right balance between discipline and forgiveness through wisdom. This is particularly instructive for those of us who live in a culture where church discipline is almost unheard of because we don t want to risk offending anyone. A church that does not practice proper discipline will spiral into disarray, while a church that does not practice appropriate forgiveness will congeal into a mass of rigidity and unmerciful behavior (Can we not say the same thing for individuals?). For Paul, Christians are a community whose lives are all bound together in Christ. What is true of one is true of all (1 Cor. 12:26). If one person is allowed to sin without restraint, it will adversely effect the whole community. If one person is not forgiven when they are truly repentant, it will also adversely effect the entire body. There are several amazing things about Paul s feelings concerning this incident. First is that he feels that the real damage has been done to the Corinthians not himself. This would not be a necessary statement if it wasn t a situation (like slander against Paul) that the Corinthians might have felt damaged Paul more than them. Paul feels, however, that in following the rebellion of this man, they were really injuring themselves. In addition, Paul is one that truly understands his life in Christ; he will not take personal offense when someone sins against him, for he died to his own life. Second, is that Paul considers this whole ordeal to be a test. His tearful letter was written, in part, to see if they would be obedient in everything. Not just in administering appropriate discipline but also in forgiving when the circumstances were right. Third, Paul s words if there was anything to forgive appears almost as a passing comment, yet its implications are huge. Paul is the one that has been slandered here, yet he puts the onus of forgiveness on the Corinthians. Why? Because Paul has already forgiven the offender for what has been done to him. Yet, not only has he forgiven him, he doesn t even remember if has forgiven. This is not absent-mindedness, this is the Christian discipline of forgetting once one has forgiven. This shows us the quality of person we are dealing when we talk about Paul. Finally, Paul wants them to remember that the real enemy is not the brothers that were attempting to cause divisions between Paul and the Corinthians. No, the real enemy is Satan. He is the one who will use any scheme he can to create cracks in the Christian community. Satan would be equally pleased with a church that did not practice either discipline or forgiveness, so both must be administered with love in the appropriate situations.

7 12Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia. 14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 17Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God. 1. Why does Paul argue that his anxiety was actually a sign of his apostolic authority? 2. What is significant about the fact that Paul is not leading the triumphal procession? 3. How can the fragrance be life to some and death to others? Paul obviously had an extremely intense love and concern for the Corinthians. Do you have that same sort of passion for other Christians? Are you as concerned about the spiritual welfare of other Christians in your life as Paul was? If not, what can you do to change that situation? I once went to an outdoor church service in another state. When we arrived we saw one guy, in particular, running around furiously, setting up chairs and picking up garbage. I was looking for the senior minister in the Church because I wanted to meet him, so I asked this guy where I might find him. My assumption was that this couldn t be the minister since he was running around doing such mundane tasks so closely before the service was to begin. Of course, you see where this is going. This guy was, in fact, the minister. What I had forgotten was a lesson I needed to learn badly. It was precisely because he was the minister, the servant of the Lord, that this man was doing all of that work. His work was not a sign that he wasn t the minister, as I had supposed, it was in fact the sign that he was the true minister of that church, doing whatever needed to be done. Paul will continue in this passage, as he does in much of this letter, to defend his apostolic ministry. In almost every instance that Paul s critics used to discount his ministry and apostolic authority, Paul demonstrates that it s quite the opposite. What they were using as evidence to point out that he couldn t be a true apostle was actually proof that he was. Paul says that his change of plans in Troas did not demonstrate that he was unstable and led by the mind of his flesh as his detractors were no doubt claiming. His changes of plans were a demonstration of the fact that he was an apostle. They were an expression of his Christ-like suffering on their behalf. Paul had sent Titus ahead to Corinth to determine how the Corinthians had responded to his tearful letter. He had expected him to come back quickly but, for reasons unknown to us, Titus had not. His concern for the spiritual condition of the Corinthians was so overwhelming that Paul left an open spiritual door in Troas to go to Macedonia to find Titus. Paul didn t try to conceal his anxiety; he said good-by to them, and presumably, openly explained why he was leaving. No doubt, his critics would have argued that this was another demonstration that he was no true apostle, to leave an open spiritual door because of his own anxiety. Paul s answer to that charge, once again turns things on its head. His leaving of Troas was an example of the suffering that God had called him to as an apostle, not a sign that he was not one. His love and concern for the Corinthians was so intense and deep that this was among the most difficult suffering Paul had to endure. The fact that Paul saw this example of anxious suffering as being part of his call from God is demonstrated in verses (Some commentators claim that the switch between verses 13 and 14 is too abrupt and that 2:14 begins a section of a different letter fragment that was inserted here. This doesn t hold water, though, because if Paul truly left off at 2:13 and 2:14 is from another letter, then he would be playing right into the hands of his critics, not at all answering the potential charge that he left Troas because he was unstable. Verses 14-16, as we will see, clearly explain why Paul saw his anxious suffering as being from God, and thus, a demonstration of his apostolic authority.) The key to understanding verses is in the phrase, which in the Greek is, a technical term referring to Roman victory processions. The Roman triumphal procession was a common event that would have been familiar to everyone in Corinth. The average processional would have been led by a victorious general. There were very specific criterion in a victory during battle that needed to be met in order to qualify for a processional. The processional was much like a parade and was intended to bring honor to the victorious conqueror. Also in the processional would be the enemies of Rome who had been captured in the battle. They would march along with the processional, going off to their death. One of the many aspects of the processional was the burning of incense along the route. The sights, smells, and sounds of the entire processional served as a great sign of life and victory for the conquering Romans, but it signified death and defeat for the conquered enemy and for those being led as prisoners to their certain death. This brutal imagery is precisely the point Paul wants to make about his ministry and service to the Lord. He is not, however, claiming to be the leading, victorious general in this great procession. No, that spot is reserved for the Messiah. Paul considered himself one of the vanquished prisoners. He was one of God s conquered enemies being led to his death. Paul was Christ s slave being led to his death in order to display the glory and majesty of God, his conqueror. Rather than Paul s suffering being a demonstration that he was not an apostle, he describes his suffering as the means through which God was revealing Himself. When Paul s suffering was too much for him to bear, he needed to be strengthened by God, which demonstrated God s power. It is then, the surrendered lives of Christians that serve as the fragrance of incense in the victorious processional of Jesus Christ, serving as the sweet smell of life to those who submit, but the putrid smell of death to those who would remain as enemies of God. Verse 17 offers another example of his apostolic credibility. Because he is a slave in Christ s procession, Paul will not make a profit on the Word of God. This in not, as his critics would suppose, another example that what he was teaching was then worthless. It was the very sign of his sufficiency for the ministry because of his special circumstances. Unlike those who peddled the gospel purely for profit, Paul s ministry in no way glorified himself, he was after all, merely a conquered foe, being led to his death. Of course, the huge difference that Paul doesn t mention here, is that rather than being merely led to the end of his life, Paul was being led through his death so that he might have the life of Christ.

8 1Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 1. Why do you feel that Paul seems so bothered by the suggestion of a request for a letter of recommendation? 2. What does Paul mean by saying that the Corinthians are his letter? 3. How does the Corinthian request for a letter of recommendation correspond to his discussion of the Old Covenant? Just as Paul says in Romans 8 that the Spirit has now done what the Law couldn t, here he says that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. The resurrection of Jesus has made life available to the world. Paul, the apostles, and all Christians since then, are simply servants and stewards of this new life. Have you been a good steward of it this week? I had spent years learning and teaching about Abraham Lincoln and the events in history that surrounded his life, but I would never say all that much about his personal abhorrence of slavery. It never needed to be addressed much; his personal dislike for the institution of slavery could be assumed. At least that s what I thought. Then one day I met someone who challenged that. He began to argue that Lincoln hated slaves and could not have cared less about what happened to them. It wasn t until he began to challenge this common assumption that I had to really research and defend the point of view that he did care and he personally hated slavery. That s often the way it is with matters of theology as well. Things are often assumed but not vehemently defended or explained until someone comes along and challenges those assumptions. In that way, heresies and false teachings often help develop sound and proper doctrine. Paul, in fact, l has never gone into great detail about what it meant to be an apostle, but now his identification as an apostle has been challenged by some critics in Corinth. Much of what this letter is about, in the face of this opposition, is Paul s explanation of what it means to be apostle. It was a common practice in the ancient world to expect a letter of recommendation from another person or group of people detailing their qualifications to do whatever it was they were coming to do. This was often necessary without means of mass communication such as we have today. We can learn from the early Christian writings, the that letters of recommendation were common in the early Christian world as well. If a teacher or evangelist came to a town where they were not known, it was common for them to bring a letter from another congregation, recommending the spiritual qualifications of the individual. This was necessary as even Lucian, the pagan satirist, noted that any con-artist could rip off Christians because they were so hospitable, inviting, and simple-minded. Up to this point, Paul has argued that the legitimacy of his apostolic ministry is based on his sufferings. The Messiah suffered, and what is true of him is true of his people, so Paul s sufferings demonstrated the source of his ministry. Now he will switch that argument to answer the ongoing challenges to his authority. Paul will begin to argue for the validity of his ministry based on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. He will do this in a line of reasoning that will continue all the way through 4:6, in which he will compare and contrast the Old and New covenants as a way to demonstrate the difference between his type of ministry and that of others. Those in Corinth who were challenging Paul s legitimacy were evidently claiming that some of the material in 1 Corinthians in which Paul is defending his ministry, was serving as his attempt to recommend himself. They were likely claiming that Paul could only recommend himself and had no such verification from anyone else. He was not, according to their arguments, an apostle at all. Thus, Paul is a bit sensitive, and a bit sarcastic as he asks if his defense of his ministry in chapters 1 and 2 are sounding like another self-recommendation. Paul s point is that in the ancient world, letters of recommendation showed that someone lacked their own evidence to back up the claims they were making. They were a substitute for credibility. Paul doesn t need that because the existence of the Corinthian Church is his letter of recommendation. They are the source of his credibility, which nicely puts them on the spot. If they are the verification of his ministry, if they are his letter, then the inherent question is, are they acting like it? What would people know of Paul based on the way they were acting? Paul has basically told them that what is true of them is true of him. Thus, if they question his legitimacy and his ministry, then they call themselves and their faith into existence. If Paul is not a legitimate apostle, then they have just cut off the branch they re sitting on. Paul has two primary passages in mind as he makes the case for his apostolic ministry, beginning in verse 3. One is Exodus 34:29-35, the account of Moses and the stone tablets, and Jeremiah 31:31-34, the promise of the new covenant that would be written on the hearts of God s people (although Paul certainly makes allusions to Ezek. 11:19 and 26:26-27 as well). Paul is contrasting the Old Covenant with the New, promised Covenant, saying that his ministry is the fulfillment of the promise. It is the ministry that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and is written on the hearts of people. What Paul is saying is that his God had promised a time when He would give a covenant that would be written on hearts not stone tablets. His ministry is the fulfillment of that promise, and so cannot be defined by written letters. He is making a connection between the need for letters and the Old Covenant Law (we have to be careful to realize that Paul is not denouncing the entire practice of letters of recommendation, he is making a point about his ministry and the specific demand of some in Corinth that he produce such a letter.) Rather than questioning his legitimacy, the Corinthians should realize that Paul s letter, which is the Corinthian Church, shows himself to be quite legitimate and competent. Of that he is quite confident, which shows his confidence not only in his own ministry, but also in them. This does not build himself up, though, or say anything wonderful about Paul the man. Every aspect of Paul s ministry comes from God. It is God who has chosen Paul and made him fit for duty as a minister of the New Covenant. Just as God called men like Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and made them sufficient despite their insufficiency, so He will do the same for Paul. In contrast, though, the Old Covenant law was expressed in writing and was not kept by men, leading to their death. Now, however, Paul s ministry is sufficient because it is powered by the Spirit. The Spirit that empowers God s Word to be obeyed from the heart.