A warm welcome
back to you, and happy to have you here for a warm slice of Daily Bread. We’re about
halfway through with our study of Paul’s second letter to the people of
Corinth and you could say that most of it has been Paul’s response to some
rumors that have been wrongfully spoken of him and those who are close to
him in his ministry.
This is something
we all face at one time or another in our Christian walk, so as you read,
take a mental note of the patience that Paul exhibits while dealing with
this. In fact, if you look back to Chapter 6 and read through the list of
things that he says make us worthy ministers of God, you’ll see that he
practices what he preaches.
At the end of
Chapter 6, he reminds us of what God said about being separate. Separate
yourself from things that aren’t supportive of your beliefs, in particular,
unbelievers. Be different. Jesus was different, and we’re different, and we
will be rejected, as He was. And when we are, it’s important that we remain
worthy ministers of God, to receive His promises. Here’s a little reminder:
For you are the Temple of the living God;
as God has said,
I will dwell in them,
and walk in them;
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Exodus 29:45
Therefore come out from among them,
and be ye separate,
saith the Lord,
and touch not the unclean thing;
and I will welcome you.
And will be a Father to you,
and you shall be my sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty.
Jeremiah 31:1
Revelation
21:7
Now Paul continues:
So then, having these promises, dearly beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh
and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Accept us; we have wronged no one,
we have corrupted no one,
we have defrauded no one.
I don’t say this to condemn you:
as I have said before,
you are in our hearts to die and live with you.
I’m confident in telling you,
I have great pride in you: I am filled with comfort,
I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.
For, when we arrived in Macedonia, our flesh had no rest,
but we were troubled on every side;
outside were fightings, inside were fears.
Nevertheless God, that comforts the lowly,
comforted us by the coming of Titus;
And not only by his arrival,
but by the encouragement he received from you,
when he told us your earnest desire,
your mourning, and your warm affection toward me;
and I rejoiced even more.
Here’s a Daily Bread Crumb to munch on. This epistle that
we’re studying now, although it’s called 2 Corinthians, was probably not the
second and last letter that Paul had written to the people of Corinth, but
is the second letter to the Corinthians chosen to be included in the Bible
by Religious leaders way back when.
For though I made you sorry with a letter,
I don’t regret it, though I did regret it:
for I perceive that the same letter has made you sad,
though it was only for a little while.
Now I rejoice, not that you were made sad,
but that your sorrow brought you to repentance:
for you were made sorry according to a godly manner,
that you might suffer loss by us in nothing.
For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be regretted:
but the sorrow of the world works death.
Another great comparison between godly
sorrow and worldly sorrow. Here’s more about that:
For behold this very same thing,
that you sorrowed after a godly sort,
what carefulness it brought about in you,
yes, what clearing of yourselves,
yes, what indignation,
yes, what fear,
yes, what vehement desire,
yes, what zeal,
yes, what revenge!
In all things you have proven yourselves to be clear in
this matter.
Paul, in essence is saying, Golly, I made
you all sad for a bit, but look what the final result was!
You repented, you
took it to God, and the final outcome is . . .
GRACE!
Therefore, though I wrote to you,
I didn’t do it because of the one that had done the wrong,
nor the one who allowed the wrong,
but that our care for you in the sight of God might be
clear to you.
Therefore we were comforted in your comfort:
yes, and even happier for the joy of Titus,
because his spirit was refreshed by all of you.
For if I have bragged any thing to him about you,
I am not ashamed;
but as we spoke all things to you in TRUTH,
likewise our bragging,
which I made before Titus,
is found a TRUTH.
And his inward affection is more abundant toward you,
while he remembers the obedience of you all,
how with fear and trembling you received him.
I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things.
That’s a pretty
generous and deserving compliment, wouldn’t you agree? When someone does
something good, it’s important for that fact to be recognized, and Paul with
thanksgiving, expresses this to those in Corinth who repented about their
doubts in him.
There’s much more
left in our study of 2 Corinthians, so come on back soon, and we’ll share
more together, right here at Daily Bread.
