We are back in the NT for the next 2 weeks. Paul writes his second letter to the Corinthians encouraging them to extend grace to those who have fallen morally.
2 Corinthians 1: Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
God of All Comfort
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 affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.
7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.
9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
Paul's Change of Plans
12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.
13 For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and acknowledge and I hope you will fully acknowledge---
14 just as you did partially acknowledge us---that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.
15 Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace.
16 I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea.
17 Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say "Yes, yes" and "No, no" at the same time?
18 As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No.
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes.
20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,
22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
23 But I call God to witness against me---it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth.
24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.
2 Corinthians 2:
1 For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you.
2 For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained?
3 And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all.
4 For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.
Forgive the Sinner
5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure---not to put it too severely---to all of you.
6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough,
7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.
9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything.
10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ,
11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Triumph in Christ
12 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord,
13 my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.
14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,
16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
Things to think about…
1. Paul in his opening words of 2 Cor 1:1-11 starts by saying that he had a rough time in Macedonia. He wanted to come to the Corinthians earlier but he couldn’t. He was stopped and had suffered so much even to the point that they despaired of life itself. This is more than ‘death threats’. This was intense persecution to the point of utter despair even of life itself. Thankfully we are not in that place. Some in this world are in this position, as we often hear about – generally in Arab, Asian or African countries. Paul says in 2Cor 1:11 “You must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks.” Our prayers make others give thanks to God.
2. In 2 Cor 1:12-20 Paul wants to remind them that his boast is in them, he loves the Corinthians, vss 12, 14. Paul wanted to come to Corinth as he did on his first visit to bestow a spiritual blessing upon them, vs 15 cf 1Cor 1:4-7. He was unable to come to them as he wished, vs 16, but it is not that he changed his mind. He says the Lord is not ‘yes’ then ‘no’, but ‘yes’ vss 17-19. He says that they stand firm in their own faith, vs 24. This is true for every believer. This can often be a trap that pastors can fall into. The church stands because of the faith given by the Lord through grace. The pastor is not the Saviour. He is simply called to love and be faithful with the message.
3. In 2 Cor 2:1-11 Paul is not wanting to cause ‘pain’ when he comes to visit. So rather than do that he wrote a firm letter. This may or may not have been 1st Corinthians. In all likelihood there was at least one more letter in there. The point being, Paul wanted to bring encouragement, not condemnation. The word “comfort” is the main theme and essence of this introduction where normally in Paul’s it is generally thanksgiving. While he is no doubt thankful for his friends at Corinth, they needed comfort due to persecution and certainly Paul; could identify with their suffering. This is always the minister’s desire. I love encouraging people; the flip side of course is that I loathe having to discipline people, even though it is also a part of the calling. But to a large extent this is the calling of every Christian. This was a big part of Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians. That’s not what they needed now. Let’s encourage one another with the truth, whether it is a word of encouragement or rebuke. Again Paul’s reasoning is found in vs 11 “so that we are not outwitted by Satan, because we are not ignorant of his ways”. Do you have an accountability partner in your life. If not, I would encourage you to get one!
4. Paul writes in 2Cor 2:1-3 that he did not want to cause pain like he did in his first letter. He did so out of love, vs 3, and he does the same here with a word of comfort and encouragement. I think this should be a theme in churches as we come out of this pandemic that has cost far more than lives, but also livelihoods. May we see the church in 2022 be a place of joy, hope and encouragement.
5. In this passage in 2 Cor 2:5-11 Paul may well be referring to the immoral brother that caused pain in the fellowship and Paul therefore caused pain in his rebuke. That season is over now and Paul has moved on and is encouraging the church to do the same. We all go through painful periods in life and in the church at times. These should not define us. Christ is our hope, peace and strength. Paul says if you forgive, I do the same, vs 10. Why, because we do not want to be outwitted by Satan, vs 11 as noted earlier.
6. I love this snippet in 2 Cor 2:12-17. It shows that Paul really appreciated close friendships even when an open ministry opportunity (even a blessed one) was before him. I think we have the opinion of Paul that he sacrificed relationships from what happened with Barnabas over John Mark (Acts 15:36-41), but here Paul wants to find Titus and would not be at rest in his spirit until he did. Despite all of this he says, the gospel still spreads. Pastors and preachers need to keep this in focus. The Lord will look after His Word, they just need to be faithful with what He has revealed to them. Keep me accountable in this please
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer Points
1. People in the church and community who have Covid. Pray especially as some will have a severe reaction.
2. That we see Christ even as Covid goes through the community.
3. Praise, hope and Joy through this new year.
4. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
5. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. CBC Leadership team – maintaining church and grounds as well as the weekly running of ministries. Thankyou.
2. Wonderful worship on Sunday – thankyou, Zac, Gina as well as Bec and Doug – technical team.
3. Joy in our service, great times in the cafe.
4. Word of God being blessed at CBC.
Announcements
1. All ministries on break until the start of February
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
3. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for January...
Q. 15. What does the wine represent? A. The blood of Christ, shed for our salvation.
Bible References – Matt.26:27&28; 1Cor.11:25.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
