Revering the Word
2 Corinthians 1 The depth of your relationship with God is to be shared.
Good morning, everyone. Today, we began second Corinthians. In the recent past, we went through the first book of Corinthians. You might recall that the Apostle Paul had a significant relationship with the church in Corinth. He had spent 18 months in that church, and after spending a significant amount of time there, he wrote the letter first Corinthians. And in that letter, Paul wrote, regarding many things, is a pretty lengthy letter. But one of the things they struggled with was, there was a temple to Aphrodite in Corinth. There was a lot of sexual immorality in this city, and that church was learning how to live for Jesus Christ amidst a wicked, unbelieving world that struggled with sexual immorality. So that was a significant point in that letter. In addition, although they struggled with worldliness and also sexual immorality, they were trying to advance in the use of spiritual gifts, even things such as prophecy and speaking in tongues, things of that nature. And Paul wrote largely to correct and to bring order to a church that was probably ahead of itself in what it was trying to exhibit in the Spirit of God, because they were rather immature in the things that they had begun to practice in the church. So Paul was writing to correct that. Now, you may recall that when we talked about first Corinthians, there was actually a prior lost letter that the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, which we don't have was lost. And then he wrote first Corinthians, then he left and, you know, he left prior. But after writing first Corinthians, he then heard a report about how people had come into Corinth and were usurping Paul's authority and were teaching a false doctrine and teaching that Paul could not be trusted. And Paul visited Corinth again after that. And the visit didn't go very well. You know, man, I talked about sometimes the challenge of being in ministry and it can be challenging. And Paul's relationship, although deep in Corinth was also a challenging relationship. So after leaving Corinth and not having a particularly good visit, Paul wrote another letter that again is lost and it's known as the severe letter. And in this severe letter, Paul challenged some things that they were doing wrong and had to even write about his own authority and, you know, the fact that they were questioning him and he kind of put it to him pretty hard in this letter. He was very concerned about how they might receive that letter, maybe concerned that, you know, his relationship with them would be lost. Again, his prior visit with them that he had just had, he didn't feel went very well. In the midst of all that, Paul gets a report that they actually responded well to his severe letter that they took largely what he had to say as, you know, what they needed to hear that. Yet, you know, when you, when you have, you know, some relationships that are challenged and you, you then challenged people in a, in a severe letter, you know what, there's still some concern Paul has about his relationship with the church, but he is largely comforted realizing that for the most part, they received him well. So in this letter of second Corinthians, now it's really the fourth letter to the Corinthian church, although we only have two of them. And he's largely thankful that they received him well, but he's still working to clear up some of the problems with his credibility because it has been somewhat tarnished or, you know, people have worked against him in that, in that city and, you know, with the, the false teacher. So that's where we pick it up in second Corinthians chapter one and it ends up being really a fabulous letter. You know, chapters three, four and five and even into six are some of the most magnificent chapters of all of scripture. And I will look forward to getting there with you. So with that as a backdrop, let's now take in second Corinthians chapter one. Paul an apostle of Christ, Jesus by the will of God. And you can see already, Paul's letting them know, you know, that he has an authoritative position in the gospel of Jesus Christ because he is an apostle. He is a sent one from Jesus. He has seen Jesus. Although he wasn't one of the original apostles, he was one was transformed. You know, again, he was trying to kill and drag Christians off to prison, but God met him on the road to Damascus and totally transformed this man's life from being a Jew to being a Christian. And he ends up becoming one of the number one missionaries of all time. And Paul is saying, listen, I have, I have, I am an apostle, which was a unique title given to the original 12 and just a few others, including the apostle Paul by the will of God. He's saying this is this is God's will. So again, trying to assert that he does have spiritual authority and it's coming from God by the will of God and Timothy, our brother, he has Timothy with him at this point when he's writing this letter to the church of God, which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia grace to you and peace from God, our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's such a great way to introduce a letter. And, you know, grace is such a beautiful thing. It's God's unmerited favor, God's power, God's grace, God's gifts. There's so much to the grace of God, you know, that's a whole message in itself, but to understand the richness of God's grace, if you ever want to do an exploration on grace, strongly encourage it to learn the depths and beauty of the word grace, excuse me, and the grace of God. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort who comforts us in all our afflictions so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. Now, this is a glorious word. It's somewhat unique in the Apostles Paul's writing to this chapter where he speaks so much of this comfort. Now, it's a very similar word, the word there, comfort as to the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit was referred to in the Gospel of John as an advocate, one who was summoned to our side. And in the Gospel of John, when we learn of the Holy Spirit being one summoned to our side, it's written in as a masculine noun. Otherwise, it would be the same word as here, but you know, that's interesting, by the way, we've been focusing on that at our church, the Holy Spirit, we've been in a series about that lady, lately in the thing is the Holy Spirit is the person of Jesus Christ in spirit form who's been summoned to our side. It's a he. It's not a it's a he. It is God the Father and the Holy in Jesus being sent from both of them through the Spirit, but it is a he he's a person and he's been summoned to our side. And that's the word that's used as advocate or helper for the Holy Spirit. Well, this is a very, very similar word, but it's the verb form of the same word. And what it's pericaleo, pera is like the word that you use for, you know, like parallel. And then caleo is to call. So this is to call to one side, to call for, to summon. It can mean to speak, to exhort, to comfort, to instruct, to admonish, to encourage, to console. It's all of those things. And God has comforted us. He has encouraged us. He exhorts us. He, he has through his spirit been summoned to our side. And what's being said here, which is so wonderful is that as we have gone through life as believers in Jesus, and as we have taken on a relationship with our Lord and Savior, he has given us comfort. He has given us steadfastness. He has helped us in our journey of life. He has righted our ship. He has given us a firm foundation to live on. He has given us hope for our future. And as a result of us receiving such a, a great gift in Jesus Christ and having this comfort, when we rest upon him, then what we're able to do, even amidst affliction and hardship, is we're able to pass that on to others. We're able to be an example to say, you know what, through all the ups and downs of life, through all the difficulties and challenges that we face in life, God has been my rock hallelujah. He has been with me. And as a result of us resting in him, we'll be able to share that comfort with others and say, you know what, you can have what we've been so blessed to receive in Jesus Christ. So hallelujah, when God ministers to us, when we allow him to minister to us, we're able to share that ministry with others that God wants to be that source of comfort for them. Verse five, for just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. And one of the things that in 2 Corinthians here, Paul faced some kind of significant suffering we're about to hear from or hear about, although we're not, we don't know exactly what it is. But he's speaking from a place where man, he just went through something really significant, something very trying. And God was with him and comforted him. And now he's sharing that comfort with the church in Corinth. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. Or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient and during of the same sufferings, which we also suffer. And our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharing shares of our sufferings, so also you are shares of our comfort. You know, the depths of the suffering and difficulties that Paul went through only further his relationship with God. And really, he's saying are being used by God to deepen the comfort that he receives from God. So now he can speak from a place that, you know what, he's gone through so much, but God's been with him the whole time. And now he can speak from the depth of that place. So, you know, sometimes the suffering that we've gone through is a gift because it's developed our relationship with God to the point that, man, we can relate to others and help others who are going through suffering. For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction, which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively beyond our strength so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. Wow. So, I mean, he was to the point where he's almost ready to die, but God saw him through it who delivered us, verse 10, from so great a peril of death and will deliver us, he on whom we have set our hope. And he has learned that God is there to deliver him from the difficulties of life, and he will yet deliver us. You also joining in helping us through your prayers so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many. You know, he's saying his trial was so severe and that through people's prayers and, you know, there's going to be great encouragement that they have made it through the trial and that God has saw him through. For our proud confidence, verse 12, is this, the testimony of our conscious that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world and especially toward you. For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand until the end, just as you also partially did understand us that we are your reason to be proud as you are ours in the day of our Lord Jesus. And that's interesting. You know, that's a future eschatological word there. Paul's saying that, you know what, all of us, when Jesus Christ returns, whether, you know, you are pre-tribulational, which that could be what he means by the day of the Lord Jesus, that when Jesus comes back to get us, you know, or with his return, that, you know, that's our hope and that may we all be found in him on that day and may we can be steadfast and sticking with God, and that's going to be our proud confidence that God is going to see us through to that day. So, you know, Paul definitely had a view that Jesus Christ is coming back and that was his great hope. Verse 15, "In this confidence, I intended at first to come to you so that you might twice receive a blessing, that is to pass your way into Macedonia and again from Macedonia to come to you and buy you to be helped on my journey to Judea." And one of the things you have to understand is that when Paul wrote letters, and you know, this is going to be pretty significant in this letter, and you see it in the book of Philippians as well, that Paul prepares churches for his arrival that they would be prepared to be generous with him when he's there, because after he leaves that city, he's going to go on to other cities and minister and proclaim the gospel and he needs their help. He needs their financial help, and he's already preparing them that he's hoping that they will help him on his journey after he visits them again. And Paul is definitely sharing with them in this letter that he has an intended visit to them coming up. Verse 17, "Therefore I was not vacillating what I intended to do this, was I? Or what I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh so that with me there will be yes, yes and no, no at the same time." Sometimes Paul was questioned by the Corinthian church and he's letting them know when he says something, he means it. They can trust the word that he's saying he's not wishy-washy. And I think that has been questioned to a certain extent, and Paul's writing to clarify, no, Paul is not wishy-washy. "But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no. For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who has preached among you by us, by me, and Sylvanas and Timothy was not yes and no, but is yes in him." He's trying to again affirm that he is a reliable apostle and that they can trust him. And the only reason he's got to do that is because some people were trying to hurt his reputation to the people in Corinth and he continually has to defend himself in that regard that he is reliable and when he says something he's going to do it. "For as many as are the promises of God in him, they are yes, therefore also through him is our amen to the glory of God through us." Verse 21, "Now he who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge." Now, that's a wonderful, a wonderful thing that when we are born again in Jesus, when we've come to receive him as our Lord and Savior, he anoints us with his Holy Spirit, he seals us with his Holy Spirit. He gives us his Holy Spirit as a pledge. Part of what the Holy Spirit does besides being our comforter, being our helper, giving us gifts, strengthening our resolve to live for Jesus, it's also the pledge of our inheritance, meaning it's like a down payment, you know, and one day we're going to have the fullness of God's presence because we're going to be with him, but the pledge of that promise is the fact that God says here, "I'm going to give you my spirit now and that's going to help you and be at your side until one day you are physically with me again when he returns." So it's the down payment on the fullness of what we're going to receive at a later date, "But I call God as witness to my soul that to spare you I did not come again to one's, not that we lorded over your faith but our workers with you for your joy for in your faith you are standing firm." And I think, you know, Paul, who had written a severe letter, did not want to come again and have a poor visit like he had his previous visit, and I think he's now thankful that maybe he didn't see them again until he heard a positive report that now when he comes, it's going to be a more positive visit. He's looking forward to a more encouraging visit from them. There's also something significant here that we're not going to spend a lot of time on, but the type of ministry that Paul had with people changed, you know, Paul in verse 24 says, "Not that we lorded over your faith but our workers with you for your joy, even though Paul was an apostle and that gave him a special authority in the church, the nature of discipleship ministry changed." And I'm going to be spending a lot of time on this, on this fall, writing a very significant report on this. That's something that's not talked about a lot. You know, when Jesus discipled his guys, you know, he had 12 disciples, and, you know, he did say, "Go make disciples of our nations," and we are trying to make learners, students, pupils, followers of Jesus. But the nature of discipleship ministry changed in the church age. The church age is after Pentecost, after the church began. Recall, when Jesus was making disciples prior to the church age, there was no church. There was no church. Think about that. The only way you had church really at that time was to be with Jesus because there was no church. Well, after Pentecost, when churches began, the ministry of discipleship changed. It wasn't the same anymore. They each didn't get 12, and then they all went and got 12. That's not what happened. We don't see that. We don't see the apostle Paul writing, "Well, I have my 12. Now you go get your 12." That really wasn't the instruction that he gave the churches. The nature of discipleship ministry changes. You'll see this term come up a lot. In fact, in all of the letters, post the book of Acts, the word "disciple," believe it or not, some people are going to be like, "What are you talking about right now?" But look it up. After the book of Acts, you won't see the word "disciple" anymore. It's not in all of Paul's letters. It's not in Peter's letters. It's not there. It's not found. And what you see, listen to what he says here. He says, "Not that we lord it over you, your faith, but our workers with you for your joy. For in your faith you are standing firm." What you see happen is you see this term, "fellow workers," "fellow soldiers," "fellow partakers." And really, now we are all disciples of Jesus. Listen, yes, we are to be His disciples, but we're disciples of Jesus. We're learning to become more like Him. And we are all fellow workers, fellow soldiers, fellow partakers of the Spirit of God. And we are all working together now to point one another to be followers and disciples of Jesus. So we are all fellow workers in this body of Christ, this church, this new entity that didn't exist when Jesus Christ was here. And we now work together for the glory of God to help us all grow to become His fellow workers, to become His followers. And you'll see the emphasis of this change. If you look for it, this term, "fellow workers," Paul is not lording it over them. And doing exactly the kind of discipleship ministry that Jesus did, he's getting in right in the midst of the church and saying, "Hey, we are in this together, working together for the glory of God as a body of Christ to become fellow workers of the Kingdom of God." So listen, you can look that up more on your own and you'll hear more about it from me in the future. Yes, we are disciples of Jesus. Yes, we are pupils and learners of Him. What I'm trying to share is that after the dawn of the church age, when the church existed, now part of our discipleship ministry is not following an itinerant preacher around the world for three years, one guy administering to 12 people. But we work together in the church, the body of Christ, to become His followers through the ministry of the church. So that's how things began to change. That's just a very small preview. I assure you that there's something beautiful to be found in what I'm talking about here and we'll talk more about it in the future. Let's be fellow workers for the glory of God and proclaim this gospel through our churches and hopefully win more to be fellow workers in God's Kingdom. God bless you all.