2 Corinthians Lesson 13
First & Second Corinthians
Lesson 13 - Chapters 11-13
By Cindy Ketron
On The Edge of Eternity
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How can it be that we have come to the end of our study on 1 & 2 Corinthians?!! I know I say that about every study we do, but it truly does just seem like yesterday that we began studying these 2 incredible letters that the Apostle Paul sent to the church in Corinth. This church was a tough one to manage because it was formed against the backdrop of an incredibly pagan culture where even the notion of Christianity was foreign. The people at the church in Corinth had to learn the ways of God and in doing so, they had to discard the ways of the world they had known all of their lives up until this point. Let’s recap the outline of 2 Corinthians:
Chapters 1 - 7, God’s comfort in all sorts of life situations
Chapters 8 - 9, Christian giving and the collection for the church in Jerusalem
Chapters 10 - 13, Paul’s calling and authentication of his apostleship
Chapter 11 is a continuation of what we studied last week in chapter 10. As we study the New Testament, we sometimes come across the words, apostolic authority. What is apostolic authority? The apostles were given an authority that nobody else had in Christendom. Jesus Christ commissioned these men to be the foundation of the Church and as such, they were given certain kinds of authority.
What do you discover about that authority in the following verses:
Matt. 10:40
John 17:20-21
Acts 2:42 1
Thess. 2:6
Based on these verses, did the apostles have the authority to command that Christians act in certain ways?
The apostles were emissaries/ambassadors for Christ. They spoke on His behalf. They recorded Scripture through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. By virtue of the commissioning upon their lives, they absolutely had the authority with the Christian churches in the 1st century to dictate what was right and wrong and to send caution to those individuals and churches who were living in a way that was not consistent with the precepts of God. We have already read in previous chapters that Paul could have exercised his apostolic authority with the Corinthian church many many times, but he sometimes chose not to. In an earlier lesson, we learned that as wise parents, as our children grow, we give up control in favor of guidance. Paul was the spiritual parent to many churches and we do not have an accurate account of just how many. That is the topic of scholarly debate. We know for sure that he founded and was the spiritual parent to churches in Galatia, Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, Ephesus, Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. He had the authority to tell these churches how to be a church because Jesus Christ granted him that authority.
Now, Paul is going to defend that authority.
2. Read 2 Cor. 11:1-3. Do you think that Paul is speaking to all of those in the Corinthian church or just those who are stirring up trouble? Why?
We discussed 2 lessons ago that just like all those in our modern churches today are probably not truly saved, all those in the church in Corinth were probably not saved. That much is evidenced by the behavior of some of them. And no doubt, some of them who were saved had listened to some false innuendos from people within the church who were against Paul. These were in the minority. The majority loved Paul and trusted him.
3. What reason does Paul give in v. 3 for why he is wanting them to indulge him as he is giving a defense of his authority as an apostle?
In v. 1-2, he begins by telling them that it is ridiculous (folly) that he should have to do this. He’d much rather be doing something else like spreading the gospel! Do you ever get involved in something that starts going south and you have to stop and do damage control instead of completing the task? This is exactly what was happening in the scenario Paul is painting for us in chapter 11.
4. Read 2 Cor. 11:4-9. How do you think someone preaches another Jesus or another gospel, or receives another spirit?
This is an interesting question. Recently Pope Francis died. One of the things we discussed in this class was that he preached a false gospel. If someone distorts the Jesus of the New Testament, then they are preaching a lie, a false gospel. Here are some things that we absolutely have to insist on if someone is to believe in the Jesus of the Bible:
Jesus is the Messiah who came to offer salvation to sinners.
Jesus is God.
He is the 2nd person of the God-head.
Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross atoned for our sins if we accept Him in faith.
Only the blood of a perfect sacrifice would suffice for covering the sin of humanity.
He was the only person who could ever fit that category. Because blood was required to satisfy God, Jesus had to shed His blood.
He was dead for 3 days and 3 nights and He arose on the 3rd day.
He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father and is making intercession on our behalf. ***Bottom line: You cannot save yourself! Only He can save! This is the gospel.
These are the things that must be presented to share the gospel. If anything is presented differently, then whatever is presented has become a false account of who He is and why He came. Apparently, there was some of this false stuff that was incongruent with Scripture and it was being spread about in the church in Corinth. In v. 5, he says that he is not inferior to the other apostles, but is on par with them. Jesus commissioned him on the road to Damascus.
5. What was Paul saying of himself in v. 6? What do the following verses suggest about Paul’s skills as a preacher:
1 Cor. 2:1-5
2 Cor. 10:10
1 Cor. 1:17
1 Cor. 2:4
Paul is undoubtedly the most brilliant of all the writers in the Bible. He had an incredible knowledge and understanding of Old Testament Scripture and he was educated by the greatest of Jewish teachers, Gamaliel. But as knowledgeable as he was, he didn’t flaunt it. As knowledgeable as he was, he didn’t try to convince others about his high level of intelligence. As knowledgeable as he was, he preached simple sermons in simple ways. He might not have been the easiest on the eyes (was likely a pretty ugly fella) and he might not have been the greatest orator on earth, but his writings contain profound theological insight and were instrumental in shaping early church thought. Paul’s teachings undeniably played (and still play) a significant role in the spread of Christianity.
6. Why do you think Paul said what he did in v. 7-9 about not taking a salary from them? (May need to refer back to some of your lessons in 1 Corinthians.)
Nobody wants to be a burden. Paul certainly didn’t want this church to view him in that light. Burdens are those things that weigh us down. Some burdens we bear, we do so with grunting and great groaning, and some we bear with love and we don’t even think about it. We would never NOT bear certain burdens. When my son was in cancer treatment in 2011-2012, I took excellent care of him and I did it out of my deep love for him. Yes, it was a burden in the sense that it was a heavy load to bear, but I gladly bore it. There are other burdens we might bear that cause us resentment. I think Paul was wise enough to know that this particular church might have resented him if they thought they had to financially support him. It is only when a church is active and living out the love of God that they view supporting a pastor or missionaries as a gift instead of a burden to bear. The Corinthian church was so immature, they just weren’t quite there yet and Paul knew it.
7. In 2 Cor. 11:10-12, what is Paul boasting about?
Verses 13-15 are a little spooky. I don’t like any character on TV or in the movies who pretends to be nice, but is really sinister. That is one reason that I could never stand Willy Wonka. He was syrupy sweet, but then he was also very cruel to certain kids.. I just could not ever reconcile that in my head as a child (or as an adult).
8. Using these verses and the ones below, come up with a description of Satan’s character.
John 8:44, Luke 4:12-13, 2 Thess. 2:9, Matt. 4:3-9, Gen. 3:1-5, Matt. 7:15-20
There are so many ways that Satan can mess with us! Friends, we do not want to be ignorant of his tricks. Let’s look at just some of the ways that we might fall prey to his devices:
1. By not knowing the Word of God well enough.
2. By not calling upon the Spirit of God to give us wisdom and discernment and strength to withstand the devil and his schemes.
3. By causing us to question something or to dismiss something in Scripture. Have you ever heard a preacher or a teacher say, “Well, this is not something that is relevant today, so we don’t really need to know it.”? If God thought enough of it to put it within the pages of His Holy Word, then we need to know it!
4. By listening to and entertaining half-truths when they are presented. This can happen even at church. This can happen especially in some churches.
5. By elevating people above God. This can really be true of some celebrity pastors.
6. By luring us in with the desires of our heart when our desires are not godly.
7. By convincing us that certain sins (like gossip and unforgiveness) are really not that bad.
9. I’m sure there are a million other ways, but these are the ones that immediately come to mind. And as creepy and sinister as these are, we have no need to fret. Why? (1 John 4:4)
Did you catch what 2 Cor. 11:15 says, that Satan “ministers” and so do his pals? Trust me when I say that it is better to have someone admit they are an ax-murderer to your face than to sweet talk you and hack you to death in your sleep! I like to know who I’m dealing with. Satan is never going to present himself as some nefarious creature. He’s always going to present himself as kind and logical and spiritual.
Read 2 Cor. 11:16-20. Paul is using a little bit of sarcasm in these verses. He is saying this to tell them that if they are that easily led astray and placed back into the bondage of the Law, then they will basically put up with any kind of treatment from false teachers. In 2 Cor. 11:21-27, Paul gives them a little taste of what he had already suffered for the gospel.
10. List below what he suffered.
The Jews had a system where they would beat a person for minor offenses by giving them 13 stripes on one side, 13 stripes on the other side, and 13 stripes on the back. 39 stripes was the legal limit. If this is for minor offenses, I would hate to see what they did for major offenses! Paul had already had this done to him 5x by the time he wrote 2 Corinthians. The question that arises here is that if Paul was a Roman citizen (he was) and if he was a missionary to the Gentiles (he was), then why did the ruling Jews have any kind of legal power over him. He mentions that the 39 lashes were from the Jews (Judians) and he also mentions other means of punishment. Those other means were from the Roman government. Therefore, he was getting it from all sides.
11. First century historian Josephus said of the 39 stripes, “This punishment is most shameful for a free man.” (A.J. 4.238) Where in the world did the ruling Jews get the idea of these 39 stripes? Look up Deut. 25:1-3. What was the context here and why could they not go beyond 40 stripes?
I’ve read a lot of historical data regarding why Paul would have received these stripes since he was a Christian. From what I learned, Paul had to voluntarily subject himself to the Jewish rules and punishments in Judea in order for them to have any kind of punishing power over him.
12. What do you learn about Paul from the following verses:
Acts 13:14
Acts 14:1
Acts 17:1-2
Acts 18:19
There are more verses than this to show his general mode of operating when he came into a new city. We know that Paul’s specific calling from God was to take the gospel to the Gentiles. But, as we read above, he never started with them.
13. He started with his own brothers and sisters who were Jewish. Romans 1:16 gives the reason for this. What is it?
He, therefore, did not go to the Gentiles first because it was not God’s order. In addition to that, Paul was deeply burdened for the Jewish people, even when they refused to believe him regarding the gospel. It is because of all of this that we just looked at that Paul allowed himself to be under the policing capability of the Jewish rulers. This reminds me so much of our Savior who also didn’t have to go to the cross, he chose to do so.
We do not have an ounce of the hardship that Paul did. Sometimes we moan if we have to stand on our feet 30 extra minutes to serve meals at a soup kitchen. For the most part, those of you reading this have no clue what it means to suffer for the cause of Christ.
14. Read 2 Cor. 11:28-33. What additional burden did Paul have to deal with?
Read 2 Cor. 12:1-6. I think if you went to any Christian pastor anywhere who was actually doing the work of the Lord, he would tell you that caring for a congregation of hurting people is a heavy load. Paul had multiple loads to carry because he didn’t just start one church to keep tabs on, he started many churches and kept tabs on them by sending them letters and visiting repeatedly to check on them. It has occurred to me in the writing of this lesson that perhaps there has never been nor ever will be another human man like the Apostle Paul. He truly was in a class all by himself!
We are about to enter a very interesting part of Scripture. Only 3 people have ever been to heaven and come back to earth:
1. John
2. Paul
3. Jesus Christ
15. How does Paul describe his going to heaven and what was he unclear about?
He speaks in 3rd person about going to the 3rd heaven. How very interesting! If ever there was something that I would have loved to have described, it would have been the 3rd heaven! If there is a 3rd heaven, then it is understood that there is a 1st and a 2nd.
16. What do you learn about the “1st heaven” in the following verses:
Deut. 11:11
Psalm 104:12
Isaiah 55:10
17. What do you learn about the “2nd heaven” from the following verses:
Psalm 8:3
Isaiah 13:10
18. What do you learn about the 3rd heaven in the following verses:
Psalm 33:13-14
Isaiah 66:1
Let’s break it down like this:
1. 1st heaven - earthly, the atmosphere - it is 62 miles high until you get into the next heaven
2. 2nd heaven - outer space
3. 3rd heaven - spiritual, Paradise, where God resides
When Paul uses the term, “cannot be told”, that can possibly mean 2 different things:
1. Cannot be told because it is a heavenly language.
2. Cannot be told because it is holy and he is unauthorized to talk about it.
It could actually mean both of these, that he could not speak the heavenly language because it was holy and he was not authorized to do so.
The Greek word, “harpazo” is the same word that is used in 1 Thess. 4:17 to describe the rapture of the Church. It means caught up or snatched up immediately.
We do not know where Paul was when this event happened. Many Bible teachers believe that it possibly occurred during his first missionary journey to Lystra and Derbe. This would also have corresponded to the 14 years ago time period he spoke of.
20. Read Acts 14:1-20. What happened in these verses?
21. Do you think that this mob who stoned Paul would have left him had they thought for one minute that he was still alive?
Can you imagine going to the 3rd heaven and not telling anyone about it for 14 years?!!! He was perhaps almost dead and perhaps he was actually dead for a short period of time. This would make sense if he had an out-of-body spiritual experience where he actually went to heaven. The reason why I think this is when Paul went to the 3rd heaven is because this was early in his missionary travels. All kinds of horrible things happened to him throughout his ministry. If God had allowed him to have a little taste of heaven before he went there permanently, then don’t you think that might have given him the strength to endure all the rest that would come later? I think that is a possibility although we can’t know for sure.
This brings up an age-old thought, “why do bad things happen to good people?” If only bad things happened to bad people, we could rationalize that. But God allows some of His most precious children to suffer. Look at Job, Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel….Jesus Christ. Paul, arguably the greatest missionary who has ever walked the earth was allowed to suffer, not just for a little while, but for years! His ministry would have spanned around 34-35 years. And during this period of time, there was not one year where he didn’t suffer. Sometimes when those we love are diagnosed with terminal diseases, they suffer for what seems to be an eternity. But most people do not suffer for 35 years at death’s door. Paul was always at that door.
When bad things happen to good people, we are challenged to see these things through the eyes of faith. Jesus told His followers prior to His ascension that they would suffer. As we stated in an earlier lesson, Christianity during the 1st century was a hard sell!
22. Read 2 Cor. 12:7-9. What was wrong with Paul that he asked God to remove 3x?
There’s a LOT of speculation about what this could have been. When I was a little girl, my family went to visit my Dad’s parents on my Papaw Reed’s birthday. He was already on his deathbed and had been there for a few months. Dad took Papaw some new underwear for his birthday. What else do you get a fella on his deathbed? When Dad walked into the bedroom, he gave Papaw the gift, all wrapped up. Papaw opened it and handed it back to Dad. Three times during that visit, Dad mentioned the underwear. The 3rd time, Papaw said, “I heard you the first time.” I’ve never forgotten that because even as a little girl, I thought it was so funny. Paul might have asked God to remove that thorn 3x, but God heard him the first time. He just said, “No.”
I think it is a good thing that Paul never mentioned what his thorn in the flesh was. Had he done so, the readers of Scripture would have associated that particular thing with Paul’s pain and if the reader didn’t have that particular thorn, then he might not have been able to identify with it. As it is, when we read this passage, we can identify because we all have painful things in our life.
23. In v. 7, why does Paul say that he was given a thorn in the flesh?
The allure of fame and recognition can lead some of these celebrity preachers and pastors of very large churches to prioritize their own image and status instead of emulating the image of God. Actually, that allure can catch anyone in ministry regardless of the size of the church or the size of their following. Paul gave a warning to those who might think they have arrived in 2 Cor. 10:12.
24. What was that warning?
Because of Paul’s thorn in the flesh, he had to stay close to God to survive and complete his mission. He didn’t have time to ponder the possibility of fame. He had a job to do. John Bunyan, who was a pastor of high visibility in his day, understood the dangers of such an allure. After preaching a sermon one day, a friend came up to him and complimented him on the sermon. Bunyan responded, “Ah, you are too late, the devil told me that before I got down the pulpit stairs.” (quoted by Charles Spurgeon, “Pride and the Destroyer,” May 27, 1883, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol.44)
Nobody but Jesus has ever lived in heaven and come to earth. John, the Revelator was privy to some things that will take place in the future. He wrote about those things in the book of Revelation. There is very little said in Scripture about heaven. So, for Paul to have been witness to such things could have undoubtedly caused him to lose his humility. God gave him that thorn (whatever it was) for a reason.
25. 2 Cor. 12:9-10 are some of the most comforting and encouraging verses in the entire Bible. From these verses, can you describe how we can manage the dark situations in our lives?
The sufficiency of God’s grace is one of the themes of Scripture. We generally don’t understand this at a level we can grasp and hold onto until we go through deep waters and realize that we have nothing to offer our situation and we become totally dependent on God. How can it be that when we are wiped out emotionally, physically, and spiritually that we could possibly be better off? How can it be that we are the strongest when we are bereft of all strength? It can be because God is able to use us and empower us when we are empty of ourselves. When Paul was stoned in Lystra and left for dead, do you think he had an ounce of energy to stand up and go on? It was only by the power of the Holy Spirit within him that he was able to go on.
26. Read 2 Cor. 12:11-12. Why did he say that he was nothing?
He also said similar things in the following verses. But each of these verses is separated by years. There is undoubtedly a progression of thought.
27. Note the details of each verse and what you can understand about the beginning of Paul’s ministry to the end of his ministry.
1 Cor. 15:9
Eph. 3:8
1 Tim. 1:15
Notice that in the 1 Timothy passage above that Paul did not say he was a big sinner. He said, “I am the chief of sinners.” I believe that the more Paul ministered and the more he understood God’s ways, he could not help but realize the depravity of his soul. This makes grace all the more amazing! I want you to think about the early part of your Christian walk. Did you think that you had arrived when you accepted Jesus? Perhaps you were impressed with the knowledge you acquired in the first few Bible studies you ever did. Now, I want you to think about where you are right now. Are you more convinced that the more you learn, the more you realize that there are vast amounts of learning that you still need to do? Are you more convinced of your sinful deeds and need of a Savior with the age and wisdom you have? If you have been growing as a believer, your understanding of your own sin should become more profound to you as the years go on.
28. Rather than beat ourselves up, Paul gives us the reason for the mercy of the Lord towards us. How does he explain this? (1 Tim. 1:16)
29. Luke 18:11-14 shares a poignant story of how we should view ourselves in light of God. How should we look at ourselves?
30. There is no doubt that Paul was humble. He wasn’t always humble though. His life before Christ indicates that. But his life after Christ indicates a growing humility prior to his death. In 2 Cor. 12:12, how were the signs of an apostle indicated?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
These are the apostolic signs. These signs meant that the apostles carried with them the authority to speak on behalf of God.
31. Read 2 Cor. 12:13-20. How many times does Paul indicate that he will have been with the church in Corinth?
32. What is he saying here in v. 15?
This breaks my heart for him. Here was a man who was completely spilled out for the cause of Christ and yet, the more love he showered on them, the less it seemed that they loved him. Have you ever felt like this? Have you ever felt that the more you love and try to do for someone, the less you are loved in return? Many of us have had that happen in our lives and it is heartbreaking. I am so glad that Paul had other better experiences from which to draw on.
33. Read Acts 20:17-38. What is the situation here?
34. How did these Ephesian elders respond to Paul when he was leaving?
These verses always make me cry. Oh how they loved him. So when I read about how he was treated in Corinth, I think about the deep love that the church at Ephesus had for him. In 2 Cor. 12:16-17, Paul explains to them that he was never after any money they might have and he did not have any financial gain from being with them. What he was after was them, he wanted to win them to Christ. In v. 18, he says the same thing about Titus. He didn’t gain anything financially from them either. The very fact that he is saying this tells us that there were those in the Corinthian church who were spreading rumors about such things.
35. In v. 19, why did Paul do what he did?
36. What kinds of nonsense did Paul say he was fearful of finding once he got to them in v. 20?
Every single bit of this goes on in our churches today. One of these adjectives sticks out to me, “swellings.” What does swellings mean? It means that people are pompous and puffed up and full of themselves. I saw a pastor from the west coast on tv at a local church recently. I was appalled at his demeanor and the casual and careless way he handled Scripture. So, I began reading about him. His church purchased a 3 ½ million dollar house for him and his family. He joked on stage that his 3 kids were with him, but that they would not come to church because they were agnostic. Who jokes about such things? Certainly not a man of God. He apparently wears designer clothes and some of the things he had on while on stage were $3000-$4000 jackets and $900 pants, etc. The first few rows of his church are roped off for all the celebrities who visit there and they have a special entrance all to themselves. This “pastor” and a well-known celebrity have matching tattoos. Friends, this is what swellings means in contemporary terms. There are so many of these kinds of pastors spread out across our nation and trust me when I say that these men (and women) have blood on their hands. The deceit they are spreading as they masquerade as preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ is giving multitudes of people a false hope in their salvation because they have believed a false gospel.
37. Read the final verse in 2 Cor. 12. Why does Paul say that God may humiliate him?
Anytime our children misbehave, we feel that that is a reflection on us as parents. This is what Paul is saying here. The church at Corinth was his baby, his child. Yes, they lived in a pagan and vile city. Yes, they were immature Christians. But Paul loved them in spite of themselves, just as God loves us in spite of ourselves. Did the church at Corinth affect the city of Corinth for the better?
I certainly hope that they didn’t affect it for the worse. When the true believers are removed from this world in the rapture of the Church, this world will become infinitely more evil. It is the Spirit of God within us as believers that is currently keeping evil from taking over completely. This last verse is heartbreaking to me and it is also a plea from Paul for them to straighten up and fly right.
Chapter 13 is our final chapter in this series of lessons. What a tremendous amount of information we’ve learned! I pray that this study has strengthened your faith in God and has encouraged you to share the true gospel without reservation or compromise to the world around you.
38. Go ahead and read all of chapter 13. How are facts to be confirmed? (v. 1)
Because of all the false accusations made against Paul, he tells them that there is a way to confirm whether something is true or false. He desperately wants them to know and understand that what he is sharing with them is true and that they can count on the information he shares.
39. What do you think he means in v. 2 about “not sparing anyone?”
In 1 Corinthians, we read about Paul telling them “don’t you make me come down there and deal with you” just like a parent would say to a child. What Paul is saying to them in v. 2 is a threat of sorts. It is not a threat of bodily harm, it is a threat of spiritual discipline. This church was constantly seeking some kind of proof that the gospel message was true and that Paul was accurate in what he had shared with them. Oh ye of little faith!
40. What does he instruct them to do in v 5?
41. Paul says a similar thing to young Timothy in 2 Tim. 2:14-17. How does he instruct Timothy?
There will always be false teachers. In order to not be duped by these guys, Paul instructs Timothy to know the original (the Bible) so that when a fake is presented, he will easily recognize it as a fake. This is exactly how the government trains people to identify counterfeit money. They don’t study all the counterfeits out there. They only study the real thing so that when they are confronted with the counterfeit, they will recognize it as such.
When Paul tells them that periodically they need to “examine” themselves, he was basically telling them to do a heart-check. Many of the people at the church in Corinth had fallen back into immorality. My guess is that it was those very people who were giving Paul a hard time and challenging his authority as an apostle. It would be better if those who were causing the problems repented on their own. Perhaps that is one reason he told them to examine themselves. This is the 2nd time we’ve read that Paul had the Corinthian church to examine themselves.
42. What was going on the first time he extended this directive to them in 1 Cor. 11:28?
When I do counseling, one of the things I do in regards to this is to have people look at 3 things:
1. What are the behaviors you are exhibiting?
2. What are the motives behind the behaviors?
3. What do you need to change?
If your behaviors and motives are consistent with Christian teachings, then you pass the test. If they are not, then you don’t. Genuine faith will always have evidence of the working of the Holy Spirit. One of the best ways to gauge where we are with the Lord is to ask ourselves if we’re bearing any spiritual fruit. King David made an impassioned plea of God in regards to testing him.
43. What did he ask of God in Psalm 139:23-24?
In 2 Cor. 13:6, Paul tells this church that he’s already taken an inventory of himself and he knows he’s not a reprobate. In v. 8, he speaks of not being able to do anything against the truth. Have you ever heard the old sayings, “The truth will stand when nothing else will” and “The truth always rises to the top?” I believe those to be accurate. I might get upset from time to time if someone refuses to accept the truth, but I try not to fight it. As J. Vernon McGee says, “We should declare the Word of God and not spend our time defending it. God doesn’t ask us to defend it. He asks us to declare it, to give it out.” In chapter 12, we just read where Paul was talking about his thorn in the flesh and that when he was completely emptied of himself, then he was strong because it was in that moment that God had to take over. Here again in 2 Cor. 13:9, he makes a similar statement. The word “perfection” here does not mean perfection in the way we might use the word. It means complete and mature.
Read James 1:1-4. There is a flow in these verses, a means of getting to maturity. Let’s look at it below:
Count it all joy when you have different difficulties in life >>>>>if you can be okay with your faith being tested in this manner>>>>>>>you will become steadfast (unmovable) >>>>>>>when you cannot be moved>>>>>you are complete, mature, and content, wanting nothing.
44. What does Paul say his preference is, to be sharp with them when he is away, or to be sharp with them when he is present?
In all that he has written to them in 1 & 2 Corinthians, he did so to build them up and not to tear them down. This church was his problem child. But even problem children can be a joy to a parent when that child grows and matures and responds positively to the teachings we raised them with. I love the way he ended this amazing letter! Living in peace is something that in this world is sometimes hard to accomplish. We can live in peace because we serve the Prince of Peace.
There are dark times that we all experience from time to time. For some people, it seems that they struggle with one bad event right after another. It appears that some have more than their fair share of pain. What a testimony it is to be living in pain and to be at peace at the same time because you know that God is with you. Moses shared some heartfelt words prior to his death that were very similar to what the Apostle Paul shared at the end of chapter 13.
45. Read Deut. 31:8. What in this verse gives you hope?
46. Read the last 2 verses of 2 Cor. 13. Where is the Trinity in these verses?
In closing, I would challenge you to share the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ wherever you go. We can do this because He goes before us and He is with us. Friends, there will never ever ever be a time in your life that He is not with you. One day, either you will say goodbye to everyone you love or they will say goodbye to you. There will never be a day when we will have to say goodbye to God. What an incredible promise to us! Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus come!
© Cindy D. Ketron. All Rights Reserved
