Doing Right Requires Righteousness

16 But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. 17 For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. 18 With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. 19 And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. 20 We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, 21 for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man. 22 And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 So give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to these men. – 2 Corinthians 8:16-24 ESV

Paul unashamedly and boldly asked the Corinthians to participate in a fundraising effort to alleviate the suffering of the Hebrew Christians living in Judea. Ongoing persecution and the lingering effects of a recent famine had left them in dire straits, and Paul was doing all that he could to raise support from the churches in Macedonia, Achaia, Asia Minor, and Galatia. And the church in Corinth was to be no exception. He wanted them to know the joy of participating in the gracious support of their fellow believers, even those whom they had never met. Paul was not commanding the Corinthians to give because he did not want them to do so out of compulsion or with any sense of regret. But he was unapologetically claiming that their giving would be in keeping with the example of Christ Himself.  Paul reminds them that, though Christ “was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9b NLT).

Paul knew that he was doing the right thing, but he had a strong desire to do it in the right way. He was fully aware that everything he did was analyzed and critiqued by his enemies. And while he wasn’t one to waste time worrying about what men thought about him, he did worry about the potential damage his actions might do to the name and cause of Christ. That’s why he was taking special care to handle the collection of funds in a way that was aboveboard and free from accusations by his enemies.

He was sending Titus to collect whatever gift the Corinthians could provide, because they knew Titus and had built a solid relationship with him. But Paul was also sending another individual, “the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel” (2 Corinthians 8:18 ESV). It is unclear who this brother was, but evidently the Corinthians knew exactly who Paul was talking about, as he was well-known and well-respected by them. This individual had a reputation for trustworthiness, and Paul indicates that he had “been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us” (2 Corinthians 8:19 ESV).

Paul wasn’t taking any chances because he knew his efforts to raise funds for the Hebrew Christians in Judea provided a perfect opportunity for his enemies to accuse him of everything from extortion and greed to larceny and the abuse of power. But in the end, what Paul was most concerned about was the name of Christ. He did not want to do anything that might damage the reputation of His Savior or detract from the cause of the gospel. So he took extra precautions to ensure that his efforts were blameless and free from any hint of impropriety.

We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable. – 2 Corinthians 8:20-21 NLT

It was Jesus who said, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 ESV). Peter echoed these words.

Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. – 1 Peter 2:12 NLT

As believers, we are to always do the right thing, but it is just as important that we do in the right way. We must always consider the outcome of our actions and keep in mind that our conduct is being analyzed by those around us, especially unbelievers. We are ambassadors for Christ, and all that we do in this life is to be done on His behalf and in His name. We speak and act on His part, and even our right actions, if not done in the right way, can produce the wrong results and bring harm to the name of Christ.

We can’t afford to live with the attitude: “Who cares what they think?” Our conduct has consequences. Our actions speak volumes. Every word and deed is a potential testimony that will reflect either positively or negatively on the cause of Christ. What we do matters, but how we do it is just as important.

Paul was unashamed to ask the Corinthians for money, but he was unwilling to do it in a way that might damage his reputation, hinder his ministry, or bring shame to the name of Christ.

We don’t want anyone suspecting us of taking one penny of this money for ourselves. We’re being as careful in our reputation with the public as in our reputation with God. – 2 Corinthians 8:20-21 MSG

That is how we are to live, and that is the attitude we must maintain as we do so. Our mission matters; so does our methodology. We must always strive to do the right thing, the godly thing, in the right way – blamelessly and above reproach.

Father, as Your child, it matters what I do. But I know I have to put a higher priority on doing the right thing in the right way. My motives matter. My attitude makes a difference. As Paul points out, You love a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). You always look at the heart and Your Son said, “What you say flows from what is in your heart” (Luke 6:45 NLT). So if I give begrudgingly, I may appear to be doing the right thing, but I am doing it with a wrong heart. If I say all the right things, but I harbor bitterness or anger toward someone, my words are meaningless. Paul said, “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1 NLT). So, I want don’t want to just do the right thing; I want to do it in the right way and with a righteous heart. With David I pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT). Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Blessed To Be a Blessing

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 10 And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. 11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. 12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”– 2 Corinthians 8:9-15 ESV

Paul makes it clear that his call for the Corinthians to give to the needs of the Judean Christians was not a command. “I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine” (2 Corinthians 8:8 ESV). He knew that if he commanded them to give, their doing so would be out of a sense of legalism, not love. Their giving would be done grudgingly, not willingly. It would be accompanied by regret, not rejoicing. It was Paul’s sincere desire that their giving be based on their understanding of and appreciation for all that Jesus Christ had done for them.

You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. – 2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT

Jesus sacrificed all that He had in order to pay for the sins of mankind. He gave His own life to redeem lost men and women who were trapped in the debt they owed due to sin, and condemned to eternal separation from God. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul elaborates on the remarkable grace of Jesus and how it should motivate the believer’s life.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
     he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
     that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
     and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:3-11 NLT

The same attitude that Christ had; that is what Paul is calling the Corinthians to have. Christ displayed humility, selflessness, sacrifice, obedience, love, and a willingness to finish what He started, to complete what He had been called to do, out of obedience to His heavenly Father and love for those He came to save.

Paul calls on the Corinthians to follow Christ’s lead and to finish what they began. A year earlier, they had begun the process of giving toward the needs of the saints in Judea, but had evidently failed to finish the job. So Paul gives them a little friendly advice.

It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. – 2 Corinthians 8:10-11 NLT

Paul was not asking them to “give until it hurts” or to give what they did not have. This was not about the redistribution of wealth or some form of socialist economic equality. It was simply the love of Christ lived out in everyday life, as the body of Christ ministered to itself. Paul was calling one group to share with those who had nothing; the blessed being a blessing. As Paul had told the Philippian believers, the mutual care and concern among Christians was to be nothing more than an extension of their relationship with Christ.

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. – Philippians 2:1-2 NLT

While reciprocity or payback should not motivate our giving, Paul points out that the day may come when the tables are turned. We may find ourselves on the receiving end of someone else’s generosity and loving aid. When there are needs to be met, we are to give out of what we have, no more, no less. We are to give selflessly, even sacrificially, because we share a common bond in Christ. And in giving, we should be encouraged to know that, should we ever find ourselves in need, our brothers and sisters in Christ will be there for us as well. As a family, we share the love of God and a common bond in Christ.

The principle at play here is the sovereign blessing of God on His people. Paul uses the Old Testament story of the Exodus as an illustration. When the people of Israel were wandering in the wilderness, God met their needs, including providing food. In the evening, God provided them with quail, and in the mornings, they found manna. Each day, the people would go out and gather the manna, provided to them by God, but they were to follow Moses’ instructions.

“Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.” And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. – Exodus 16:16-18 ESV

God had provided, and no one had need, so hoarding was unnecessary. If they attempted to keep more than they needed for their own personal needs, it rotted. God did not want them to depend on the manna for their needs; He wanted them to trust in Him. In His infinite wisdom, God gave them exactly what they required to survive, no more and no less. No one went hungry, and no one needed to gather excess just in case the manna didn’t show up the next day. God would provide.

That same principle applied to the people of Corinth. Since God was meeting their needs, they had all they required to exist. There was no need to hoard or selfishly withhold the blessings of God for a rainy day. Whatever the Corinthians enjoyed by way of abundance had been made possible by God. Their excess was not intended for their own security, but for the needs of others. Just as our spiritual gifts are intended for the body and not for our own benefit, so our financial blessings are intended for the good of all. God blesses us so that we might be a blessing to others.

Father, I would never characterize myself as a hoarder but, when it comes to practicing generosity and grace-filled giving, I can certainly come across that way. It is so easy to justify my reluctance to give to others because I fear that if I give, I may not have enough for tomorrow. Yet, You have never failed to meet my daily needs. Even when times have been difficult, You have always come through, and You have graciouly used the generosity of others to meet my needs. But when the shoe is on the other foot, it is easy to rationailize my reluctance to give as nothing more than “frugality” and “saving for a rainy day.” I am reminded of the Proverb that states, “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, ‘Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you’” (Proverbs 3:27-28 NLT). You have never treated me that way. When I have called, You have always answered. When I have had needs, You have provided. So, there is no reason that I should withhold what I have from those in need around me. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Grace of Giving

1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

8 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. – 2 Corinthians 8:1-8 ESV

Paul had been overwhelmed by the reception of his previous letter, even though its message had produced sorrow among the Corinthians. However, that sorrow had led to their repentance, and they had responded in grace, love, and gratitude.

Now Paul takes the opportunity to appeal to that same grace to enlist their help with a pressing financial concern. For nearly five years, Paul has been actively soliciting funds from the churches he had helped establish throughout Macedonia, Galatia, Achaia, and Asia Minor. This money was being sent to help Hebrew Christians living in Judea, where they were suffering from the effects of a famine as well as the poverty that came as a result of their conversion to Christianity. Many had lost their jobs, been ostracized by their families, or were having a difficult time trying to do business with their Jewish neighbors. Paul was constantly requesting the churches he helped to start to provide financial assistance to their brothers and sisters in Judea, and Corinth was no exception.

Paul begins by informing the Corinthians of the generosity displayed by the churches in Macedonia, a neighboring region. In referring to the Philippians, Thessalonians, and Bereans, Paul was adroitly using comparison to make his appeal to the Corinthians. He points out that their neighbors to the north “have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part” (2 Corinthians 8:2 ESV). And this was in spite of their own “extreme poverty.” Paul says, “they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will” (2 Corinthians 8:3 NLT). Not only that, Paul insists that they begged for the opportunity to give more.

This was not the first time the Corinthians had heard about the need in Judea. Paul had raised this issue in his first letter. He referred to it as the “collection for the saints” (1 Corinthians 16:1). But either the Corinthians had begun to give and then stopped, or they had never fully gotten behind the effort to begin with. Either way, Paul is now appealing to them to allow the grace of God to flow through them, as it did with the believers in Macedonia.

When it came to the body of Christ, the church, Paul had a strong sense of community and unity. He wanted each congregation to understand and embrace their connection with and responsibility to their fellow believers all around the world. They were not to view themselves as independent entities, isolated and removed from the larger context of the family of God. Instead, they were to see themselves as brothers and sisters in Christ, sharing a common bond with all believers everywhere. And Paul wants them to know that God desired to use them to extend His grace to the believers in Judea. Paul had even sent Titus to encourage their participation in this fundraising effort. 

Paul reminds them that they are a gifted church.

…you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us… – 2 Corinthians 8:7 NLT

There appears to be a hint of sarcasm in this statement. In his previous letter, Paul had been forced to address their arrogance regarding the gifts of the Spirit they had received and their prideful use of them. But he began by pointing out how they had been enriched by God. 

I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 1:4-7 NLT

Yet, they had been guilty of using their Spirit-endowed gifts for selfish, self-promoting purposes. They had turned the gifts of the Spirit into badges of honor, pridefully comparing their spirituality and boasting in their superiority over one another. This had led Paul to write, “Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters” (1 Corinthians 1:10-11 NLT). Paul went on to point out, “You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?” (1 Corinthians 3:3 NLT).

The Corinthians had become divided and fractured, arguing over who had the superior gift and who followed a particular leader. That prompted Paul to scold them sarcastically. 

You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us. – 1 Corinthians 4:8 NLT

They were so self-consumed that they couldn’t think about anyone but themselves. Their obsession with their superior giftedness left them puffed up with pride and unwilling to see the needs all around them.

So, in his second letter, Paul begs them to put aside their pride and “ excel also in this gracious act of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7b NLT). But he doesn’t want them to do it under coercion or as a form of compliance with a command; ist must be done in love. Giving without love is ultimately self-motivated and done to get attention. What is given is soiled by selfishness, regret, and a sense of reluctance.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught, “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get” (Matthew 6:1-2 NLT).

If you give to get praise, that is the only reward you will receive. That is what led Paul to write in his first letter, “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3 ESV).

The giving of the Corinthians was to be an extension of the grace of God, flowing through them to the believers in Judea. God’s grace is anything but selfish and self-centered; it is an expression of His love. So, by giving to the believers in Judea, the Corinthians would show the love and favor of God through their willing generosity.

Giving is to be seen not as an obligation, but as an opportunity to love others as we have been loved by God – generously, undeservedly, and graciously. In his first letter, Paul sternly reminded the Corinthians, “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?” (1 Corinthians 4:7 NLT).

They had become arrogant and prideful, seeing themselves as spiritually superior and blessed by God. But everything they enjoyed had come from God. It had all been a result of God's grace. Their giftedness was God’s doing. Their salvation had been the result of Christ’s death, not their own merit. The reality of their indebtedness to God should have created in them a sense of gratitude that manifested itself in gracious generosity. Their giving was to be a reflection of the joy they felt for all that they had been given.

We love because He first loved us. We give because He has given to us. We bless others because He has graciously blessed us.

Father, this was another painful, but much-needed reminder. Spiritual pride is always a danger for us as believers because it is so easy to view ourselves as somehow superior to others. We can become overly enamored with our status as children of God and somehow think that we are better and more deserving of Your love. But we did nothing to earn Your love or merit the gift of salvation. You loved us while we were yet sinners. You saved us because we couldn't save ourselves. You showered us with mercy and grace when we deserved wrath and judgment. So, why would we ever think we are better than anyone else? Why would we refuse to share the gift of grace with others? Open our eyes to see that everything we have has come from You, and that every gift we have received is intended to bless those around us. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Good Grief

2 Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. 8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. – 2 Corinthians 7:2-9 ESV

Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians, which has long been lost. It was evidently written sometime between 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians and contained some difficult topics that Paul was forced to address. In writing the letter, Paul was concerned that its tone and content would be poorly received by them. But he was encouraged to learn that, while the letter did grieve the Corinthians, it led to their repentance.

Paul’s intentions were always for the best. He loved ministering to the churches he had helped plant, and was zealous to both encourage and convict. He never meant to hurt, deceive, or take advantage of anyone. Each of his letters was couched in love. Yes, they sometimes contained tough words that had a convicting influence because Paul was not one to pull punches or worry about political correctness. He could be painfully blunt and direct, speaking with “great boldness” (2 Corinthians 7:4 ESV).

Even amid trials and difficulties, Paul found joy in knowing that the believers in Corinth received his last letter appropriately and were responding properly. This news made the difficult circumstances he encountered in Macedonia easier to endure. He was encouraged and comforted. The good news he received from Titus of their longing for him, sadness at hearing of his troubles, and strong desire to see him again was a boost to his system. Rather than being angry at him for his previous letter, they missed him.

Paul alludes to the fact that his most recent missionary journey had been anything but easy. He states that while traveling through the region of Macedonia, “our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within” (2 Corinthians 7:5 ESV). He doesn’t elaborate on the nature of the struggles he encountered, but they had caused him to fear, even for his own life. Paul was used to facing opposition and, on more than one occasion, found himself leaving a city with a crowd in hot pursuit, seeking to take his life. But it was all worth it if he could see people come to faith in Christ and have the privilege of helping new believers grow in their faith.

That is why their positive reception of his previous letter meant so much to him. Their repentance was what his heart longed for and was the reason he had written the letter in the first place. While he felt some regret for having to write the letter, he knew it was for their own good.

Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. – 2 Corinthians 7:9 NLT

Tough love is hard to administer and equally difficult to accept. But Paul had been motivated by his love for them and a deep desire for them to recognize their sin, repent of it, and enjoy the restoration that only God can bring.

Paul’s letter had left them feeling bad, but in the end, it produced a grief that led to their repentance. The truth is, each of us, as believers, should long to have our sins exposed so that we might repent of them and enjoy the forgiveness that comes with confession. The apostle John reminds us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NLT). But to confess our sins, we first have to be made aware of their existence. Sometimes this happens as the result of a loving friend, who, like Paul, is willing to speak truth into our lives. At other times, our sins are exposed to us through the Word of God by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit who resides within us.

If repentance is so vital to restoration, it would seem we would want God to reveal to us any sins we are ignorant of and unable to see. That is what led King David to pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT).

The exposure of our sins, while unpleasant, is critical to our ongoing transformation into the likeness of Christ. Asking God to “point out anything that offends” Him is risky, but well worth it. When it comes to sin, ignorance is not bliss; it is false to assume that what we don’t know can’t hurt us. Unknown sin becomes unresolved sin, and unresolved sin leaves us in an unrepentant state. As long as we remain unrepentant, we cannot enjoy the full joy of our relationship with God. And as Paul will elaborate on in the following verses, there really is a good grief, a godly grief that produces good results.

Father, nobody likes to have their faults pointed out; it makes us feel vulnerable and exposed. Yet, You provided believers with the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin so that we might so that we might repent and enjoy the forgiveness Your Son made possible with His death on the cross. In this life, sin is a constant reality; we can’t escape it. However, we can have victory over it because its power was destroyed by Christ. He defeated sin and death when He rose from the grave. But the sad reality is that we still sin, sometimes willingly and knowingly, and, at other times, in ignorance. But if we confess our sin, You are faithful and just to forgive them because Your Son gave His life to pay the penalty for them. So, there is no reason I should not seek to have all my sins exposed so that I receive all the forgiveness Christ died to provide. With that in mind, may I learn to make the prayer of Paul a regular part of my life. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT). Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Be of Good Courage

6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. – 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 ESV

Why do you do the things you do? Most likely, it is either to please yourself or to please someone else. We are either motivated by self-satisfaction or some form of people-pleasing. We are out to make ourselves feel good or to ensure that others feel good about us. But Paul introduces another motivating factor for the believer: pleasing God.

More than anything else, we should desire to do what pleases our Heavenly Father. Paul knew that a life of holiness, living set apart and consecrated to God and His purposes, was what pleased Him. He wrote to the Thessalonians: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3a ESV). God desires His people to be holy and distinctively different in their attitudes and actions. He wants them to live according to His will and in keeping with the godly guidance of His indwelling Holy Spirit.

The apostle Peter described the life of holiness as “doing good.”

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. – 1 Peter 2:15-16 ESV

He went on to say that we must abstain from certain ungodly behaviors such as sexual immorality and lustful passions. But while we “put off” unrighteousness, we must “put on” godliness. Paul echoed this sentiment when he wrote, “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you” (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 ESV).

To refuse to live a holy life is to disregard the very will of God for you. It is to willingly disobey and displease Him. But Paul insists that his primary objective in life was to please God. That was how he maintained his motivation even when doing the right thing produced the wrong reaction from others. He found the strength to endure injustice and abuse for doing God’s will because his real goal was to please God, not man.

Peter claimed that suffering was an expected part of living a godly life.

But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. – 1 Peter 2:20-21 NLT

Just as Christ suffered for doing what was right and godly, so shall we. We should not be surprised when pursuing a life of godliness in an ungodly world brings godless reactions from ungodly people.

But Paul was of good courage. Even though he found life on earth to be difficult at times, he was encouraged by his belief in the afterlife. He was buoyed by God’s promise of a life to come, and his conviction about the eternal state enabled him to live by faith, not by sight. Like the author of Hebrews, Paul knew that faith was “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV). If we live as if this world is all there is, we will lose sight of all that God has promised us for the future. But waiting on what we can’t see requires faith. That is what the 11th chapter of Hebrews is all about. The author chronicles the lives of Old Testament saints such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah and declares that their lives demonstrated faith in the promises of God. But he goes on to reveal, “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth” (Hebrews 11:13 NLT). 

Each of them had received a promise from God, yet they had to operate sight unseen, having no firm assurance that what God had promised would be fulfilled. And in most cases, they never lived to see the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise. Noah lived through the flood that destroyed the world, but did not live to see the world repopulated and restored by God. Abraham had moved to Canaan because God had promised it to him as his inheritance, but he died a landless nomad. Yet, he was “confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God” (Hebrews 11:10 NLT).

Paul was convinced that faith was essential if anyone wanted to live a life that pleased God, because “it is impossible to please God without faith” (Hebrews 11:6a NLT). 

Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 NLT.

Paul found courage in the fact that God had promised him eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ. He was encouraged by Jesus’ promise to return one day. Paul found hope in the promise of a redeemed and resurrected body, and he longed for the day when he would vacate his earthly “tent” and move into his new body, a “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (1 Corinthians 5:1b ESV).

But in the meantime, while he waited for the return of Christ or his own death, he made it his aim to live his life to please God. That meant he had to stop trying to please others or himself. He knew that there would come a day when his actions would be judged by God.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. – 1 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

On that day, every believer’s conduct in this life will be judged – every thought, action, attitude, and word will be exposed. Everything we have done since the day we accepted Christ as Savior will be assessed and evaluated as to whether it was good or evil. This has nothing to do with judgment for sin, because all our sins have been paid for by Christ. It is about whether what we have done in this life since coming to faith in Christ was godly or ungodly, righteous or unrighteous, and pleasing or displeasing to God. Did we live our lives in keeping with His will? Since His will for us is our holiness, did we allow that to be our motivating factor? Was pleasing Him our aim?

Our actions and attitudes will reveal whether our lives were pleasing to God. How we lived our lives will expose whether we were trying to please Him or whether we were living to please ourselves or others. Paul’s aim was to please God – even in this life. He made it his life-long objective to do the will of God, to live holy and set apart, and to do good even when it produced less-than-desirable outcomes. He lived by faith, not by sight, trusting in the reality of what he hoped for, yet couldn’t see: heaven and his resurrected body.

Paul actually looked forward to the judgment seat of Christ, because he was confident that his aim in life had been to please God. He was attempting to do the will of God, not men. He was striving to please God, not himself. And while that kind of lifestyle might result in troubles and tribulations in this life, it promised rewards in the life to come. Paul looked forward to hearing the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21 ESV).

Father, I want to live my life to please You, but I don’t want to do it because I think I have to earn Your favor. You have already proven Your love for me by sending Your Son to die in my place on the cross. So my attempts to please You should not be to score brownie points with You. They should be expressions of gratitude for all that You have done for me and all that You have in store for me in the future. When I live with my eyes fixed on the hope of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life, I am pleasing to You. That required faith because I can’t see the future. So, whenever I display “assurance of things hoped for” and “the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV), I am living by faith and that is pleasing to You. Help me to remember to live with the end in mind, to place my faith in Your unwavering promises for my future. I have nothing to fear and everything to look forward to. Thank You! Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

It Does Get Better Than This

1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee – 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 ESV

Paul closed out his preceding thoughts with the words, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT). He contrasted the seen with the unseen, the temporal with the eternal, and the material with the spiritual. Now, in chapter five, he continues his comparison by noting the difference between our earthly, temporal bodies and the new, resurrected bodies we will receive as part of our glorification.

What we experience in this life is not all there is or will be. The body in which we live does not represent the reality of who we are. The apostle John points out, “We are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 NLT).

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “Our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies” (1 Corinthians 15:53 NLT).

Our earthly, physical bodies are not designed for eternity; they are temporal by nature and susceptible to disease, decay, and, ultimately, death. Paul so matter-of-factly states that there is a day coming when our earthly body will be destroyed. We will die, and our physical bodies will undergo decomposition. But Paul assures us that “we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT). He is referring to our resurrected, glorified body.

In his previous letter, Paul informed them of the glorious transformation that awaits every follower of Christ. 

Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. – 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 NLT

Paul states, “We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing” (2 Corinthians 5:2 NLT). No matter how hard we work to maintain our earthly bodies, they remain susceptible to disease, prone to atrophy, and destined for death. We can exercise, take supplements, and watch what we eat, but our earthly bodies are always aging and deteriorating. We may slow down the process, but we can’t prevent the inevitable.

The other issue we face in our temporary, earth-bound bodies is the pervasive presence of sin. Because of the fall, our physical bodies have been corrupted by sin. Not only has it brought the curse of death, but it has also produced an ongoing battle between righteousness and wickedness in our hearts. In his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul provided an autobiographical glimpse into his daily struggle with his own sin nature.

The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. – Romans 7:14-21 NLT

To the Corinthians, he described this internal battle as producing a burden that results in a longing for resolution. Our new nature wearies of the constant warfare going on within us. It even led Paul to exclaim, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans 7:24 NLT). And he answered his own question.

Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 7:25 NLT

Faith in Christ produces victory over the control and penalty of sin in this life and victory over the power and presence of sin in the next life. According to Paul, we should long for the day when we can put off this body of death and put on our new bodies, clothed in the righteousness of Christ. On that day, we will finally experience what it is like to be sinless and totally righteous, not just propositionally, but practically. Holiness will no longer be a goal for which we strive, but a reality in which we will live.

Paul states, “He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 5:5 ESV). We have been redeemed by God so that we might one day be restored to sinless perfection and be able to enjoy unbroken fellowship with Him. The Holy Spirit is a down payment, a kind of guarantee that what God has promised to us will be accomplished.

In this life, we enjoy the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God who guides and directs our lives. He convicts and comforts us, provides us with a supernatural source of power, and a never-ending supply of God’s mercy and grace. But while we enjoy His presence in our lives, we also struggle with the influence of indwelling sin and the external attacks of the enemy. Yet the day is coming when our fellowship with God will never again be broken by sin. Our righteousness will no longer be contaminated by unrighteous thoughts or actions. Our obedience will be complete. Our joy will be constant. Our holiness will be undiminished and unending.

But this future reality will require a new body like the one Jesus received at His resurrection. John reminds us, “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 NLT). Paul told the believers in Philippi, “We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control” (Philippians 3:20-21 NLT).

Paul reminds us that God has prepared us for this very thing. It is all part of His grand redemptive plan. Because of Christ, we are already new creations, but our transformation is not yet complete. There is one final step in our salvation story: our glorification. 

For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. – Romans 8:22-23 NLT

Father, the older I get, the more I recognize that this earthly body is not built for endurance. Like everything else in this fallen world, it is undergoing a constant state of entropy. I may be able to delay its ultimate demise, but I will never prevent the inevitable. That is why Paul’s message about our future glorification strikes a chord with me. I may not fully comprehend the concept, but I long to see it happen. It makes sense that You have a new and improved body planned for Your people. Even Jesus, at His resurrection, received a glorified body in which He ascended into Your presence and now exists by Your side. He remains fully God and fully man, but His new body will never experience pain, hunger, suffering, or death. Because of His resurrection, we have that same destiny and the Holy Spirit provides us with a glimpse of what that life will be like. Even in our fallen state, the Spirit’s power enables us to live righteous lives. We can say no to sin. We can experience the joy of Your presence and enjoy unbroken fellowship with You. But the day is coming when sin will no longer be a factor, sickness won’t be a problem, and death will be no more. Bring it on! I can’t wait. But I will, because I know Your plan is perfect and Your timing is impeccable. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Human Weakness and Resurrection Power

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you. – 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 ESV

Paul was not afraid to admit that he was human. He knew he was far from perfect. In fact, later in this same letter, he writes, “I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10 NLT).

Paul did not believe his inherent flaws and faults negatively impacted his ministry for Christ. This was an important distinction he felt compelled to make, because the value and integrity of his ministry were constantly under attack.

Strangely enough, Paul’s admission of weakness was intended as a defense of his ministry. As far as he was concerned, it wasn’t about him; it was about the glory of God as revealed in the face of Christ and made accessible by the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. He was simply an unworthy conduit through whom God communicated His message of reconciliation to the lost. He confessed, “We don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5 NLT).

Just like the believers in Corinth to whom he was writing, his life had been transformed by the gospel.

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. – 2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT

Ever since his conversion experience, it had been his Christ-commissioned duty to take that same gospel message to the ends of the earth. His life had been transformed by his encounter with the “light of the world,” and he was determined to reflect that light to a world darkened by sin.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. – 2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV

For Paul, the amazing thing was that God had chosen to place His glory in a “clay jar,” a flawed and frail vessel of little value. He viewed himself as common and unimpressive, and unworthy to be a receptacle for the very Spirit of God. He humbly confessed, “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure” (2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT).

God had chosen to place His glory into less-than-perfect vessels. Not only that, Paul saw himself as sharing in the very sufferings of Christ as he bore the light of God’s message of redemption to the world. Just as Jesus suffered and died to make possible the redemption of mankind, so Paul and his fellow apostles suffered for the sake of the gospel, and he declared, “through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 4:10 NLT).

In a sense, Paul saw his physical body as a tool for declaring the resurrection power of Christ. When his weak and worthless body reflects the glory of Christ, it “makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7b NLT). Anything he accomplished of worth or value was proof of Christ’s resurrection because it evidenced the Spirit’s presence and power. 

Paul explains, “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NLT). Despite all the problems, persecutions, rejections, and roadblocks they faced in their daily ministries, the apostles were supernaturally sustained by God. He protected and provided for them. This does not mean they were somehow immune to trouble. Paul knew what it was like to go hungry and do without the essentials of life. In fact, he wrote the believers in Philippi, thanking them for their willingness to help him, but confessed, “I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13 NLT).

Paul knew what it was like to experience all kinds of deprivations and indignities for the sake of the gospel. On one occasion, he had even been stoned and left for dead (Acts 14:19-20). Yet God had sustained and revived Him. Just days later, Paul and Barnabas continued their missionary journey, sharing the gospel and leading others to Christ, encouraging “them to continue in the faith” and “reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22 NLT).

Paul knew what it was like to suffer pain and persecution. But rather than complaining about his trials, he saw them through the lens of Jesus’ death and resurrection. He wrote, “Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 4:10 NLT). Jesus suffered in a body just like ours. He endured pain, loss, hunger, thirst, rejection, and, eventually, death. But His death was part of the Father’s plan because it paved the way to His resurrection, and it was His resurrection that made possible the gift of the Spirit. That is what Paul means when he writes, “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7 BSB). The very fact that Paul’s bruised, battered, and weakened body could be used for God’s glory was living proof that Christ has risen from the dead and the Spirit of God had been poured out on His people.

This incomparable reality led Paul to confess, “We live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you” (2 Corinthians 4:11-12 NLT).

Paul would later write to his young mentor, Timothy, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8 ESV). He wrote something similar to the believers in Philippi.

Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. – Philippians 2:17 ESV

Paul was not perfect, but he was perfectly content in knowing that he was being used by God. He was a clay jar containing the glory of God and carrying the life-transforming message of the gospel to the ends of the earth. He had no problem admitting his own weaknesses, and even referred to himself as the chief of all sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). But it was this indisputable realization that made his ministry all the more amazing. It led him to say, “Our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT).

The thousands of changed lives Paul left in his ministry wake were not the result of his powers of persuasion or oratory skills; they were the result of God’s glory in the form of the indwelling Holy Spirit. That is why Paul was content with suffering for the cause of Christ and could boldly claim, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 ESV).

Father, I had never thought about the fact that my flawed human body could be a demonstration of Christ’s resurrection power. I even long for the day when I will get a new, glorified body that will replace the rapidly aging, progressively weakening, and sin-prone one I have at the moment. But Paul viewed his “vessel of clay” as a positive, not a negative. It was in his weakened and worthless state that the glory of God was revealed in all its power. The Spirit of God had taken up residence in Paul’s temporary “earthly tent” (2 Corinthians 5:4) and was daily demonstrating the resurrection power of life over death. That is the way I want to view my life. Rather than complaining about the fractured clay jar that is my present body, I want to rejoice that I get to demonstrate Your power through my weakness. People don’t need to be impressed with me; they need to be awed by Your presence in me. Jesus’ death was required before resurrection life could show up. So, I want to see my life in this body as a daily opportunity to see Your power manifested in my weakness. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Light of the Gospel

1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. – 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 ESV

Paul viewed himself as a minister of the new covenant who had been commissioned by Jesus Christ to carry the message of the gospel, the good news that a right standing with God was available through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This new-and-improved message was not based on the old covenant of works or human effort. Men no longer had to vainly attempt to keep the Mosaic Law, trusting that their efforts would somehow measure up to God’s righteous standard and earn them favor in His sight. The author of Hebrews states that the old way has been replaced with a new and better way. 

But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. – Hebrews 8:6-7 NLT

Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God. – Hebrews 7:22 NLT

Paul didn’t lose heart when sharing this new and better covenant with the world, because he knew it was effective. It was the key to victory over sin and the means by which men could be made right with God, once and for all. So, in spite of opposition, rejection, persecution, and at times a seeming lack of success, he kept sharing. He felt no need to use deceitful tactics or underhanded means to trick people into believing the gospel. It could stand on its own because it was the truth of God and had proven capable of transforming the lives of countless individuals without Paul having to resort to human wisdom or his own personal powers of persuasion. In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul reminded them that his initial ministry to them wasn’t based on his rhetorical skills or human intellect.

I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan…Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:1, 4-5 NLT

There were likely those who heard the gospel as preached by Paul, Silas, Titus, and others, who remained unchanged. The problem was not with the gospel or the minister's presentation skills, but with the recipients' spiritual condition. Their unbelief was not just stubbornness or obstinacy; it was spiritual warfare.

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. – 2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT

It is important to keep Paul’s use of the word “veiled” linked with his prior use of it in chapter 3. There, he had been talking about the old covenant as revealed under Moses, the covenant of law. And there were still Jews who were trying to gain favor with God through the keeping of the law.

But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. – 2 Corinthians 3:14-15 ESV

When the Jews in Paul’s day read the books of the law, they were blinded by their own belief and expectation that they could somehow be made right with God through law-keeping. So they refused to accept Jesus as the mediator of a new and better covenant. In the case of non-Jews, Paul insists that they were blinded by Satan, the god of this world. He kept them deluded, distracted, and deceived. 

Paul insists that their eyes must be opened to the truth in order to receive it. Their spiritual blindness must first be healed so that they can see the glory of God in the face of Christ. Paul knew exactly what he was talking about, because it had happened to him in his own conversion. The book of Luke recounts that fateful day when Paul came face-to-face with the resurrected Christ. As he made his way to Damascus, where he intended to persecute and arrest Christians, Paul (then known as Saul) was suddenly blinded by a light and heard the voice of Jesus Himself.

Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. – Acts 9:8-9 ESV

Jesus commanded Saul to go to the city of Damascus and await further instructions. God then sent a disciple named Ananias to minister to Saul.

So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. – Acts 9:17-19 NLT

Saul had been blinded by the light, but when the Holy Spirit came upon him, his physical sight was immediately restored along with his spiritual sight. He saw, for the first time in his life, the truth of the very gospel he had been trying to destroy. No longer blinded by the enemy, Paul placed his faith in the resurrected Jesus and was converted.

In chapter three of 2 Corinthians, Paul insists that it is the Holy Spirit who removes the veil from the spiritual eyes of the lost so that they might see and reflect the glory of the Lord.

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. – 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT

Like the blind man who was healed by Jesus, those who have their spiritual eyes opened by the Spirit of God can see and accept the truth of the gospel, and are able to say, “I was blind, and now I can see!” (John 9:25 NLT). That bright, holy light that blinded Paul on the road to Damascus is the same light of the glory of Christ that shines into the life of every unsaved person, eliminating the darkness of sin and illuminating them with the life-transforming hope of the gospel.

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. – 2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT

It is the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit that makes it possible for spiritually dead and sightless individuals to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He opens their eyes so they can see the truth of the gospel message of hope, healing, and restoration.

Salvation is the work of God performed by the Spirit in the lives of the lost. It is not due to the persuasive power of men like Paul. Only God can restore sight to the blind. Only God can raise the spiritually dead back to life. Only God can remove the veil placed on the minds of unbelievers by Satan, allowing them to see “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV).

Father, more than six decades ago, You graciously opened my eyes and allowed me to see the glory of the gospel. Even as a young child, I was able to grasp its simplicity and accept the free gift of salvation made possible through the death, burial, and resurrection of Your sinless sin. There was much I did not understand, but my lack of knowledge did not prevent me from saying yes to Your gracious offer salvation through faith alone in Christ alone. It wasn’t the words of men or my own cognitive abilities that save me; it was enlightening power of the Spirit. And I will be forever grateful that You made the gospel accessible to a young boy living in Long Island, New York in 1962. And in all the years that have passed since that fateful day. the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ has continued to illuminate and transform my life in ways I never could have imagined. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

With Eyes Wide Open

12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 ESV

In verses 7-11, Paul addressed the greater glory of the new covenant, as revealed by the indwelling Holy Spirit and His sanctifying ministry in the lives of believers. Rather than having to live up to a God-ordained code of conduct in our own strength, we have been given a new nature, made possible by the Holy Spirit’s presence within us. In his letter to the Romans, Paul explained just what man’s relationship with the old covenant had become due to the work of the Holy Spirit.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. – Romans 8:3-4 ESV

And Paul tells the Corinthians, “since we have such a hope, we are very bold” (2 Corinthians 3:12 ESV). Unlike the glory that shone from Moses’ face after having received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai, our glory is internal and eternal. The Holy Spirit is a permanent resident in the life of the believer, and His glory shines through us. The book of Exodus reveals that Moses was unaware that his face exuded the glory of God. He was oblivious to his outward transformation until others pointed it out.

When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the LORD. So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him. – Exodus 34:29-30 ESV

When Moses realized that his radiant face terrified the people, he covered it with a veil. Moses records that “whenever he went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil until he came out again. Then he would give the people whatever instructions the Lord had given him, and the people of Israel would see the radiant glow of his face” (Exodus 34:33-35 NLT).

It seems that Moses initially veiled his face to diminish the people’s fear. But in time, his motive appears to have changed. His continued wearing of the veil went from protection to prevention. He was less worried about their fear than he was about their unfaithfulness. So, he prevented the people from seeing God’s glory because he deemed them unworthy. 

While the Old Testament does not record this fact, Paul states that the day came when the glory on Moses’ face began to fade; yet he continued to wear the veil. This left the people with the impression that nothing had changed. Yet Paul insists, “We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away” (2 Corinthians 3:13 NLT). Paul seems to infer that the glory on Moses’ face was never intended to be permanent. As time passed, the people grew used to their leader’s glowing face. They even noticed that it had begun to fade. 

Their reaction to Moses’ fading countenance reflected their attitude toward the Mosaic Law. In the beginning, they treated it with awe and reverence, but over time, their fear subsided, and their commitment to God’s Law waned. 

Neither Moses nor Paul explains why the glory faded. Perhaps it reflects Moses’ own doubts about the Law’s efficacy. He was not seeing in the people the kind of life change he expected. Their fear of his glowing face did not translate into obedience to God’s commands. And while Moses continued to meet with Yahweh,  it appears that those encounters had a diminishing impact on Moses. Paul writes that the glory on Moses’ face was “destined to fade away” (2 Corinthians 3:13 NLT). It was never meant to be permanent and, as Paul insists, neither was the law.

The old covenant, like the glow on Moses' face, was always meant to be temporary. It would not last and would one day be replaced by the new covenant and the permanent, indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

Just as Moses covered his face with a veil, Paul says the minds of the Israelites were veiled so that their hearts were hardened and they were unable to see the truth. They believed the law was the key to their righteousness, even though they were incapable of obeying it. And it was their stubborn belief that the old covenant (the law) was the God-ordained means of being made right with Him that kept them from accepting Christ when He came. They refused to believe that He was the answer to their sin problem.

But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. – 2 Corinthians 3:14-15 ESV)

Their stubborn adherence to self-righteousness prevents them from accepting the righteousness made possible through the death of Jesus Christ. And yet, Paul repeatedly insists that obedience to the law was never intended as the path to justification before God.

Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. – Galatians 2:16 NLT

So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” – Galatians 3:11 NLT

So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. – Romans 3:28 NLT

Paul tells the Corinthians, “whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:16 NLT), and it is the Spirit of God that makes this possible. He opens the eyes of the spiritually blind, those with veiled hearts, and allows them to see the life-changing truth of the gospel. As a result, they “can see and reflect the glory of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18a NLT). Like Moses, they can see the glory of God face-to-face and, not only that, they can reflect that glory to all those around them — a glory that will never fade.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we have access to God just as Moses did. We can enter into His presence at any time, day or night. Not only that, but He has also placed His presence within us in the form of the Holy Spirit. As a result, we are being transformed by this daily encounter with the divine, from one degree of glory to another, slowly, methodically, and persistently,

God is molding us into the likeness of His Son, and it is all because of His Spirit’s presence within us. There is no longer any law to live up to, but only the Spirit to whom we must submit. In his letter to the believers in Galatia, Paul explained the need for submission to the Spirit’s leading.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. – Galatians 5:16-18 NLT

The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us the capacity to say no to sin and yes to righteousness. He is the glory of God who resides in us and shines through us. He is constantly transforming us, and because He never leaves us, our ongoing transformation is guaranteed to never fade or falter.

Father, thank You for the gift of the Spirit. Without His indwelling presence, I would be just like Moses and the people of Israel, stuck trying to live up to Your holy standards in my own strength and doomed to failure. Rule-keeping is always onerous, but for some reason it feels like the right thing to do. I tend to like a list of do's and don’t's to keep because it allows me to keep score on my progress. But Paul makes it clear that I am incapable of living up to Your holy standards on my own. So, You graciously gave me the Holy Spirit as my advocate and helper. My ability to reflect Your glory isn’t up to me; it’s the work of Your Spirit within me. And now that my eyes are unveiled, I can see the law for what it is; a tool that reveals my sinfulness and reminds me of my need for the Spirit’s life-transforming power. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The New Has Come

7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. – 2 Corinthians 3:7-11 ESV

This entire paragraph sounds like a riddle. To understand it, one must look at the two verses that preceded it.

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. – 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 ESV

Paul is addressing the new covenant, and now he is going to expand on it, explaining the difference between it and the old covenant. He will provide seven different contrasts between the two. But before looking at those distinctions, it is important to understand just what he means by a “covenant.” The Greek word for covenant is diathēkē, and it refers to a testament or agreement. It is where we get the Old and New Testaments of our Bible. It is a form of agreement between two parties, but it is unilateral: only one party sets the conditions, and the other must either accept or reject it, much like a last will and testament.

Paul contrasts the agreement God made with the Israelites in the Old Testament with the agreement He has made with the church in the New Testament. The first agreement was the Mosaic Law handed down to the Israelites from Mount Sinai and administered by Moses. The second agreement was the new covenant in Christ’s blood, handed down at Mount Calvary and administered by the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus celebrated His last Passover meal with the disciples, just hours before His death, He took a cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people – an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you” (Luke 22:20 NLT). Jesus was indicating that something new was about to take place. The entire Passover meal they shared with Jesus had taken on a new meaning. He had revealed Himself as the true Passover Lamb, whose body would be broken to make atonement for the sins of men. 

In the closing of his letter to the Hebrews, the author provides the following benediction:

Now may the God of peace—who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen. – Hebrews 13:20-21 NLT

Paul refers to the old covenant as “the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone” (2 Corinthians 3:7 ESV). The Mosaic Covenant revealed the will of God in the form of the law. It contained His commands for how the Israelites were to live on this earth as His chosen people. It was intended to set them apart from all the other nations. The law contained plenty of “you shall’s” and “you shall not’s.” It required perfect obedience, and it was accompanied by blessings and cursings. If the Israelites kept God's laws, they would be blessed, but if they failed, they would experience His punishment in the form of God-administered curses.

If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands…I will look favorably upon you, making you fertile and multiplying your people. And I will fulfill my covenant with you. – Leviticus 26:3, 9 NLT

However, if you do not listen to me or obey all these commands, and if you break my covenant by rejecting my decrees, treating my regulations with contempt, and refusing to obey my commands, I will punish you. – Leviticus 26:14-16 NLT

The old covenant was a “ministry of death” because the people could not keep it; it could do nothing but condemn them. It could expose their sin, but it was not designed to help them have victory over sin. The law could tell them what to do or not to do, but was not capable of helping them obey. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:19-20 ESV). In his letter to the Galatians, he responds to the logical question, “If the law can’t help men live righteously, why did God give it?”

Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. – Galatians 3:19 NLT

Paul refers to an incident in which Moses came down from the mountain after receiving the law from God. His face literally glowed, and he exuded the glory of God, and the people were awed by it. It was the only evidence that the tablets of the law he passed on to them had come from God. When the glory on his face began to fade, so did their respect for and obedience to the law. But when Christ died, ushering in the new covenant, it was accompanied by the glory of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. Rather than an external and temporary form of glory, it was to be an internal and eternal one.

The new covenant has replaced the old covenant.

What once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. – 2 Corinthians 3:10 ESV

Men no longer need to try to live up to God’s righteous standards, equipped with nothing more than their own determination and sin-weakened will. They now have the Spirit of God living within them, whose power enables them to live in obedience to God’s will. The author of Hebrews, quoting an Old Testament prophecy in Jeremiah, explains the significance of this new covenant relationship with God made possible by the death of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear. – Hebrews 8:7-13 NLT

The Corinthians were already recipients of this new covenant; they had received the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. But the day is coming when even the rebellious people of Israel will know what it is like to experience the grace of God and the glory of His Spirit’s presence and power.

Paul claimed his sufficiency came from God (2 Corinthians 3:5). That means that anything he accomplished was the result of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit who made it possible for Paul to be a minister of the new covenant. It was the Spirit who equipped him for service. It was the Spirit who validated his ministry. The new covenant had provided Paul with new life, a new nature, a new ministry, a new perspective on life, new hope, new purpose, and a new relationship with God that was based on grace, not effort, and mercy, not merit.

Father, You showed Your people Your divine standard of living but they couldn't live up to it. Yet, You weren’t surprised because You knew all along that, left to themselves, they would never manage to obey Your holy and righteous requirements. They tried, but they failed, and You had graciously provided them with he sacrificial system because You knew they would. Through the sacrifice of bulls, lambs, and goats, they could receive temporary atonement from sin and a restored relationship with You. But those blood sacrifices “were never able to provide perfect cleansing” (Hebrews 10:1 NLT). “Instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year” (Hebrews 10:3 NLT). So, You sent Your Son as the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). He did what the law could never do. He sacrificed His life so that sinful men could receive permanent atonement and a permanently restored relationship with You. That was always Your plan and You accomplished it through the gracious gift of Your Son. Thank You! Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Tough Love

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.

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. – 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:4 ESV

Even as an apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul did not see himself as spiritually superior to the Corinthians. He viewed himself as their ally and an asset to their spiritual development. He claims, “we work with you for your joy” (2 Corinthians 1:24 ESV). He, Silas, and Timothy were tools in God’s hands, used by Him to assist the Corinthians in their growth and development. And despite the issues within the Corinthian church, Paul still believed they were firm in their faith. This made his decision to delay his visit easier, and he believed it was God's will.

But there was another reason he postponed his visit: to keep from causing them pain and sorrow. Evidently, Paul had made a second visit to Corinth sometime between his original visit when he helped establish the church there. It was on this second visit that he had to deal with particularly difficult circumstances in the church. He knew his arrival in Corinth had caused them great pain because being reprimanded is never easy, and having to be the one to call them out had not been enjoyable for Paul either. So, he says, “I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit. For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved” (2 Corinthians 2:1-2 NLT).

It pained Paul to reprimand those he loved. This reveals his pastor’s heart and his deep care and affection for the believers in Corinth. They were his children in the faith, and he had a deep and abiding love for them and felt a strong sense of responsibility for their spiritual well-being. 

Instead of paying them a potentially painful visit, Paul decided to write them a letter.

That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won’t be grieved by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful. – 2 Corinthians 2:3 NLT

The letter, now lost, was evidently quite blunt and caused Paul “great anguish” to write. Whatever he wrote had caused him great sorrow and left him in tears, but it was necessary and written in love.

It was Paul’s hope and desire that the Corinthians would take seriously the painful rebuke and loving reprimand found in his letter and do something about it. What he had written had been for their good, and he longed for them to heed his words and change their ways. Otherwise, when he did finally visit them, it would be another painful reunion.

While Paul cared for the Corinthians, he loved them too much to allow them to continue in sin. His affection for them was rooted in the love of Christ and in his knowledge that he was responsible to God for their spiritual welfare. Paul did not enjoy or take pleasure in hurting them; he simply wanted to see them enjoy all that God had in store for them. He desired that they experience all the full measure of the abundant life that Christ made possible by His death on the cross. Later in this letter, Paul explains the harsh tone of his previous letter.

I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. – 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 NLT

Paul found joy in their repentance, not in their happiness. To refrain from telling someone the truth just because you don’t want to cause them pain is not love; it is a twisted form of hate. To knowingly allow them to continue in sin would be cruel and make you an accomplice in their sin. You would be enabling their sinful behavior by remaining silent.

Too often, as Christians, our fear of losing face or friends keeps us from saying what needs to be said. But Paul believed that holiness was far more important than happiness. Our love for one another is best expressed in our unwillingness to tolerate sin in one another’s lives. Which is why Paul told the Colossian believers: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16 ESV).

Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him” (Luke 17:3 ESV). Solomon wrote, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Proverbs 27:3 ESV). King David understood the value of the loving rebuke of a godly friend.

Let the godly strike me!
    It will be a kindness!
If they correct me, it is soothing medicine.
    Don’t let me refuse it. – Psalm 141:5 NLT

Tough love is tough to pull off because it is difficult to confront those we love. It caused Paul pain to say what he had to say to the Corinthians, but it was necessary. It was the godly thing to do. He told the Corinthians that he wrote his previous letter “to let you know how much love I have for you” (2 Corinthians 2:4 NLT).

When we care more for another believer’s holiness than for their happiness, we truly love them. When we’re willing to risk their rejection to bring about their repentance, we demonstrate our love for them. When we make their relationship with God a higher priority than their friendship with us, we are loving them as Christ loved us. As Solomon said, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” Strong words spoken from a sincere and loving heart may cause momentary pain, but in the long run, they will produce the fruit of righteousness.

Father, nobody likes to have their sins exposed or their faults pointed out, but the truth is that we are sometimes the last ones to see what is painfully obvious to others. Yet, most of us avoid confronting the sin we see in other’s lives because we fear rejection or suspect that they will point the finger of accusation back at us. However, our silence does nothing to change their behavior or assuage our responsibility to love them enough to confront them. Father, before Your Son began His earthly ministry, You sent John the Baptist to call the people to repentance. Even Jesus’ preached the same message, calling people to acknowledge their sinfulness and their need for a Savior. He is the one who said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Mark 2:17 NLT). He loved us enough to tell us the truth about ourselves. Then He went to the cross to pay the penalty we owed and provide a cure for our sinful condition. Give me the same passion to expose the sins in those I claim to love. Don’t allow me to let getting along to outweigh my responsibility to build up the body of Christ. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Grit and Grip of God’s Grace

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 understand and I hope you will fully understand— 14 just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you. – 2 Corinthians 1:12-14 ESV

It will become increasingly evident from the content of this letter that Paul’s ministry was being maligned or at least questioned. His motives were also under the microscope, constantly scrutinized and criticized by those who chose to reject his authority as an apostle. But Paul responds with confidence, claiming that he and his companions “behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity” (2 Corinthians 1:12 ESV). Paul writes with complete confidence, even boasting that his conscience is clear. He knows what he has done and why he has done it. He has no reason to question his motives, because he knows that his actions were the result of God’s grace, not earthly wisdom. Paul had made this claim to the Corinthians in his first letter.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. – 1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV

It was God’s unmerited favor that had produced the transformation in Paul’s life. His words, actions, and even the content of his letters were the by-product of God’s ongoing grace in his life. God was working in him and through him, and he had no reason to take credit for it or apologize because of it. Paul says that his behavior had been marked by simplicity and godly sincerity. The Greek word for simplicity is haplotēs and it refers to “the virtue of one who is free from pretense and hypocrisy” (“G572 - haplotēs - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 18 Sep, 2016. <https://www.blueletterbible.org>). Paul claims that his conduct and speech have been free of hypocrisy or any hint of a hidden agenda. What he has said and done has not been motivated by selfishness or intended for personal gain. After all, as he stated in the opening verses of his letter, his ministry had not made him rich and famous, but resulted in affliction and even the threat of death.

The Greek word translated as “sincerity” is eilikrineia, which means “purity” or “cleanness.” Paul uses this same word again in the next chapter.

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. – 2 Corinthians 2:17 ESV

Paul’s conscience is clear because he knows his motives are pure. Anything he has accomplished in his life has been the work of the Spirit of God, and that is especially true of his relationship with and ministry to the Corinthians. Even now, as he writes this letter, he reminds them that all of his previous letters “have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can’t understand” (1 Corinthians 1:13 NLT).

It is his sincere desire that they fully comprehend what it is he is trying to say to them and all that he is attempting to teach them. They might not immediately understand, but he longed for the day when it all made sense to them. He wasn’t in it to win friends, but to make a difference in their faith. He wanted to see them experience all that God had in store for them — the full expression of faith in Christ lived out in everyday life. He longed for them to grow in godliness and to put off their old, sinful natures. He wanted to see them grow in their knowledge of God and their dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

One can get a sense of Paul’s heart by reading some of the prayers he prayed for the churches he helped to start. He wrote to the believers in Colossae:

…we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. – Colossians 1:9-11 NLT

He sent a similar message to the Christ-followers in Ephesus.

I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 1:16-20 NLT

Paul knew that if they listened to what he said and applied it to their lives, there would come a day when they would find reason to boast or glory in all that Paul had taught them, because they would see the fruit of it in their lives. The day to which Paul refers is the return of Christ, when he and all the Corinthians will stand before the Lord. It will be on that occasion that they fully comprehend the simplicity and sincerity of Paul’s methods and message.

For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. – 2 Corinthians 5:10-11 NLT

Paul’s desire for the Corinthians was the same as he had for the believers in Philippi.

…that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. – Philippians 2:15-16 ESV

Paul wanted to be a success, but not so that he could gain recognition or earthly rewards. His motivation wasn’t money or fame, it was the hope of one day standing before the Lord and seeing the fruit of his labors — the countless believers who had held fast to the word of life and remained faithful to the end. Paul’s motives were pure, his heart was sincere, and his actions were the result of God’s grace in his own life. He wanted nothing more than to see the Corinthians grow in their faith and in their knowledge of God. They might not understand it now, but the day was coming when their eyes would be opened and their hearts filled with the joy of God’s grace, mercy, and love.

Father, Paul was anything but a quiter. Despite all the setbacks, suffering, and rejections he faced in his decades-long ministry, he never gave up or threw in the towel. He traveled incessantly, preached relentlessly, and suffered greatly for his efforts. But he wasn’t bitter or resentful. He was grateful for the opportunity to serve You in spreading the good news of Christ to the nations. He was often misunderstood, misrepresented, and maligned for what he wrote and said. His motives were questioned, his integrity was attacked, and he was constantly accused of everything from heresy to sedition. But your grace gave him the strength to carry on the mission free from hypocrisy, hidden agendas, or false pretense. He operated in the power of the Holy Spirit, so his efforts were pure and pleasing in Your eyes. That’s they way I want to live my life, but it can seem so impossible. Yet, by Your grace, all things are possible. Because of Your strength, I can do all things. Never let me lose sight of that reality.   Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The God of All Comfort

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.

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. – 2 Corinthians 1:1-7 ESV

As the title of this letter indicates, this is a second letter that Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth. Some time between the writing of the first letter and the receipt of this second one, Paul had been able to visit Corinth. Evidently, things had not gone well. His visit had been painful for both Paul and the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 2:1). There were still those in Corinth who opposed Paul and questioned his apostleship and, therefore, his authority. Later in this second letter, Paul addresses those who stood against him.

This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them—since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. – 2 Corinthians 13:1-2 ESV

It appears that Paul wrote a third letter, now lost, that he sent to the Corinthians sometime before writing 2 Corinthians. He refers to this lost letter several times.

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. 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. – 2 Corinthians 2:3-4 ESV

For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. – 2 Corinthians 7:8-9 ESV

So, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians to encourage the congregation there and to continue his efforts to refute the accusations of an influential minority who questioned his authority and undermined his ministry in Corinth.

But before Paul addresses the issues in Corinth, he spends some time reminding the Corinthians of who he is and what he has endured as an apostle of Jesus Christ. His journey has not been easy. His ministry to them and to the other churches he helped found has not been without its problems. But Paul is not complaining. He is simply stating the facts and letting them know that he is grateful for the opportunity to serve them and for receiving comfort from God Himself. In verses 3-7, Paul will use a variation of the word “comfort” ten times. He will refer to “affliction” or “suffering” seven times. And each time he applies these words to himself and the other men who minister alongside him.

These opening verses offer an autobiographical look at Paul's life and ministry as he faithfully ministered the gospel, in keeping with the commission he had received from the risen Christ.

Paul refers to God as “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ESV). First of all, God is compassionate and merciful, but He is also comforting. The Greek word Paul uses is paraklesis, and it means consolation, encouragement, or refreshment. Notice its similarity to the Greek word used for the Holy Spirit: paraklētos.

Before His crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper (paraklētos), to be with you forever” (John 14:16 ESV). He refers to the coming Holy Spirit as an advocate, comforter, and intercessor. The Holy Spirit, as the third member of the Trinity, shares the same nature as God the Father and Christ the Son. And Paul experienced this comforting presence in his life as he faced the trials and afflictions that accompanied his gospel ministry.

Paul had learned to expect opposition and affliction; it came with the territory. But he rejoiced because his affliction was always accompanied by the comfort of God.

…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. – Romans 5:3-5 ESV

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known… – Colossians 1:24-25 ESV

Paul saw his sufferings as reflective of his relationship with Christ and a tangible expression of the bond he shared with his Savior.

For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. – 2 Corinthians 1:5 NLT

Paul’s sufferings were not caused by sin; they were the result of his obedience to the will of Christ. He was suffering as Christ did, for doing the will of the Father. The affliction he endured was due to obedience, not disobedience. Therefore, he could rely on the comfort and mercy of the Father. This included having his apostleship rejected by those in Corinth. As long as he was doing the will of God, Paul knew he would face opposition and experience difficulties. But he would also receive the comfort and encouragement of God, which he willingly passed on to others.

Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. – 2 Corinthians 1:6 NLT

Paul suffered, and so would they. He was comforted by God, and he passed that encouragement on to the Corinthians.

Jesus told His disciples, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:34 NLT). And just after Paul was converted on the road to Damascus, Jesus told Ananias to go and anoint him, saying, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Acts 9:15-16 NLT). Suffering is an inevitable and unavoidable part of the Christian life, but so is the comfort of God. That thought should bring us courage.

Paul’s strange message of comfort in the face of affliction was not reserved just for the Corinthians. It was something he shared with all believers, including those in Rome, because suffering for Christ isn’t just a possibility, it’s an inevitability. 

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. – Romans 5:3-5 NLT

As Jesus said, “You will have many trials and sorrows,” but we can take heart because He has “overcome the world” (John 16:34 NLT) and we serve God, “the source of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3 NLT).

Father, no one likes trials, difficulties, and sorrow. In fact, we avoid them like the plague. Yet, they are an unavoidable and inevitable part of living in a fallen world that is marred by sin. Yet, Your Son said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 ESV). I have always struggled with that verse because it seems to promise Christ-followers a trouble-free existence. But 70 years of life have convinced me He must have had something else in mind. Your Son didn’t come to earth and die on the cross so we could have out best life now; He came that we might have a life free from the condemnation of sin and the threat of eternal separation from You, His life, death, burial, and resurrection have given us new life that will one day result in eternal life. That is how we endure the any present pain and suffering we face. We keep our eye on the prize; the promise of a world made new and a sin-free existence in Your presence. And in the meantime, You extend Your mercy and provide us with comfort, and for that I am grateful. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Ready, Willing, and Able

5 I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, 6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. 11 So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. .– 1 Corinthians 16:5-12 ESV

Paul was a man on the move because he was a man on a mission for God. He wrote this letter from Ephesus, where he spent three years ministering, one of his longest stops on any of his missionary journeys. He was constantly seeking opportunities to share the gospel and to help believers grow in their knowledge of God and their faith in Christ. Paul had a deep love for the churches he helped establish and saw their members as his children in the faith. He felt a special bond with them and had a strong sense of responsibility for their spiritual well-being.

In the case of Ephesus, there were “many adversaries” who were opposing his work and making life difficult for the believers there. Like a mother hen protecting her chicks, Paul was not about to leave the Ephesian believers alone and defenseless. Plus, he saw “a wide-open door for a great work” (1 Corinthians 16:9 NLT) opened to him. As long as there were unbelievers to share the gospel with and new believers who needed to grow, Paul had work to do. His job was never done. Despite pain, suffering, rejection, and seeming failure, Paul was prone to soldier on, giving everything he had to accomplish the mission given to him by Christ.

When Paul wrote his letter to the believers in Philippi, he was in prison in Rome. For a man like Paul, the real pain of imprisonment was not the conditions or confinement, but the fact that he was unable to visit the churches he loved so much. While he always knew that he could die for his faith, he was not quite ready to give up his mission.

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. – Philippians 1:20-24 NLT

This passage provides a glimpse into Paul’s heart. He longed to be bold and unashamed, even while under Roman guard. He wanted his life to honor Christ, in life or in death, and he was torn between the two. He knew it would be better if he could die and go to be with Christ, but he also knew that there was work yet to be done. Notice that he puts the Philippians' needs ahead of his own.

But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. – Philippians 1:24 NLT

In the case of the Corinthian believers, Paul longed to see them again, but he did not want it to be “in passing.” In other words, he wanted to stay with them longer, probably because he saw their spiritual needs as great. His entire letter reflects the many concerns he had about their spiritual well-being. But while Paul had to delay his visit because of the open doors in Ephesus, he had made plans to send Timothy, his young protegé and disciple in the faith, to minister to their needs. Since Paul knew that the Corinthians were prone to judging by appearances and were already struggling with divisions over leadership (1 Corinthians 3:4), he reminded them to “see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. So let no one despise him” (1 Corinthians 16:10-11 ESV).

Timothy was young and easily intimidated. Which is why Paul had told him, “Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity” (1 Timothy 4:12 NLT).

Verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 16 contains Paul’s  sixth and final use of the phrase, “now concerning…” In each instance, he has used it to answer a question or concern raised by the Corinthians.  

Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. – 1 Corinthians 16:12 ESV

It’s unclear what the issue was with Apollos, but we know that a group in the church in Corinth considered him their leader. They may have been wondering when Apollos would return to see them. In fact, they may have preferred his presence to Paul's. But rather than being offended, Paul simply stated that he had urged Apollos to visit them, but for some reason Apollos had chosen not to. Paul didn’t throw Apollos under the bus or malign him in any way. For Paul, it was not a competition; it was about sharing the gospel and building up the body of Christ. As he stated earlier in this letter, “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6 NLT). Paul assured them that Apollos would come when he had the opportunity.

In the meantime, Paul cited his longing to be with them again. He knew there was much work that needed to be done in Corinth. The church was divided, and the people were immature and misusing their spiritual gifts. Selfishness and pride were evident among them, and the influence of paganism and Hellenistic dualism was having a negative impact on the fellowship. All of this would result in Paul’s eventual return. As long as there were immature believers who needed to grow and lost individuals who needed to hear the gospel, Paul would find a way to return to Corinth.

The door was wide open, and he was more than willing to walk through it. For Paul, there was no rest for the weary, no retirement plans, and no time for an extended vacation. Open doors are meant to be entered. Opportunities needed to be taken advantage of. Pressing needs required immediate attention. And Paul was always reading, willing, and able.

Father, give me the determination and energy of Paul. He was like the Energizer Bunny; he kept going and going and going. He never gave up or threw in the towel. Even after being stoned and left for dead, he got up and went back to ministering the gospel. He was a workhorse and a tireless proponent of the faith who walked the talk. He knew what it was like to be tired, but he refused to let weariness keep him from doing Your will. He was well-acquiainted with rejection and suffering, but he never took his eye off the prize. I want to live according to his mantra: “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good” (Galatians 6:9 NLT), but I know I can only do it in Your strength and as long as I am doing Your will. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Change for the Better

51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. – 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 ESV

Paul lived with a sense of eminence and an eager anticipation of the Lord’s return. He fully expected to be alive when Jesus returned for His bride, the church. This attitude of expectation, coupled with his strong belief in the resurrection of the body, is what drove him to live his life to please God and make the most of the time he had on this earth. When the Son returned, which Paul believed would be soon, he wanted to be doing the will of God. So he told the Corinthians, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV).

All that he discusses in these closing verses of Chapter 15 concerns what he calls “a mystery,” which remains hidden from view, unrevealed, and unknown as to the day of its occurrence. No one knows the day of the Lord’s return. But just because we are ignorant of its timing does not mean we should doubt its validity. The events surrounding that day, including the resurrection of our bodies, though mysterious and unknown in exactly how they will occur, are to be believed and eagerly anticipated. Paul says that not every believer will undergo death; some will be alive and well when the Lord returns. And both the living and the dead will experience the resurrection of their earthly bodies.

Paul does not explain how this will happen because he doesn’t know. He simply reveals that it will happen unquestionably and instantaneously, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52 ESV). He says, “the dead will be raised imperishable” and those who are alive on that day, “shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52 ESV). Both groups will receive their new spiritual bodies, made in “the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49b ESV).

The apostle John informs us, “Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 NLT). Instantaneously, we will all undergo a miraculous transformation, receiving our new resurrected bodies, created by God for our new home and designed to exist for eternity.

For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. – 1 Corinthians 15:53 NLT

And when that happens, Paul says, it will be a slap in the face to death. Death is the wage or payment for a life of sin (Romans 6:23). When sin entered the world at the fall, it brought with it death.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. – Romans 5:12 NLT

For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. – Romans 5:17 NLT

Because of Jesus, death has lost its sting, meaning it no longer has its power over us. Those who have placed their faith in Jesus no longer need to fear death. That does not mean that we are immune to death; even believers die. But the real “sting” of death, its power to separate men from their God, is no longer valid. All men die, but not all men will experience eternal separation from God. At death, those who have placed their faith in His Son will find themselves immediately transferred into the presence of God the Father. Paul alludes to this reality in his second letter to the Corinthians:

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. – 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 ESV

Well-versed in the Old Testament, Paul paraphrases Hosea 13:14 and uses it to taunt death. Because of Jesus, death’s power over us has been broken. It is like a toothless, declawed lion, intimidating and with a scary roar, but devoid of any real power to do us harm.

But Paul’s real message seems to be that the future assurance of the Lord’s return and the certainty of the resurrection of our bodies should embolden us to live godly lives as we wait. We are to remain “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:538 ESV).

Rather than wasting our time arguing over spiritual gifts and debating who follows whom, we need to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the lost and extend the love of God to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Rather than worrying about death, we need to focus on living for God and making the most of every moment He gives us on this earth. We are His servants and exist for His glory. He has called us to do His will and to spread the message of salvation made possible through His Son’s death on the cross.

But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:22-23 NLT

Father, thank You for this much-needed reminder that Your Son is going to return some day. But we’re not to sit around waiting for the eventuality of that day; we are to be busy doing the work He gave us to do. We are to be disciple-makers who carry on His ministry of reconciliation. We are to be good-new bearers, spreading the message of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone to the ends of the earth. His return should serve as our motivation, because it reminds us that His work is not done. He has yet to establish His earthly Kingdom, but He will. And when He returns to do so, we will receive our glorified bodies and finally escape the sting of death. But that is not to be our sole motivation. Our ministry on this earth should be in response to Your gracious love and in obedience to His commission. I want to be a faithful steward (1 Corinthians 4:1-2), carrying out Your will to my final breath or until Your Son returns. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Sole Simple Solution

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. – 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 ESV

After spending three chapters on the issues surrounding the use of spiritual gifts, Paul now shifts his attention to what he says is “of first importance.” The Corinthians had lost sight of the overwhelming significance of their salvation made possible by the death, resurrection, and appearance of Christ. In other words, they had allowed the gospel and its life-changing message to take a back seat to what they believed was the more significant role of the spiritual gifts. So Paul reminds them of the gospel he preached to them.

It is the gospel message they received by grace, and that allows them to stand justified before God as His adopted children. It is the same gospel that makes possible their daily sanctification – their transformation into Christ-likeness. The spiritual gifts do not accomplish any of this for them. It is the gospel and the gospel alone that redeems, justifies, sanctifies, and guarantees our future glorification. The gospel encompasses the entirety of our salvation experience. And just to make sure they understand what he means by the gospel, Paul provides them with a summary statement that contains the key ingredients to its power and significance.

“Jesus died” – the death of Jesus is central to the gospel message. It was necessary for Jesus to die so that the penalty for our sins could be paid and God could be satisfied. Otherwise, we would still be guilty and under condemnation for our sins against God. But Jesus did die in our place. He took our sins upon Himself and suffered the death we deserved.

“according to the Scripture” – Jesus’ death was not happenstance or just a run of bad luck. It wasn’t the result of the Jewish leadership and their behind-the-scenes plotting against Jesus. It wasn’t even the result of Pilate’s orders or the Roman government’s power. It was preordained by God. The Old Testament prophets spoke of His death hundreds of years before it took place. 

Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed. – Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV

Jesus was sent by God to die. The penalty for mankind’s sins against God was death, and God, because He is just, required that the penalty be paid in full. But in a divine display of mercy, He provided His own Son as a substitute to satisfy the just and holy requirement for a sinless sacrifice. The author of the Book of Hebrews explains the need for this blood sacrifice. 

…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. – Hebrews 9:22 ESV

“he was buried” – Jesus’ death was real; He did not swoon or pass out. He was not placed in the grave barely alive, only to later revive and escape. The Romans oversaw His burial and were convinced of His death. His burial paved the way for His resurrection. The rolling of the stone across the opening to His tomb and then sealed by the Roman guards convinced the disciples that their Messiah was dead and their hopes for a new kingdom were gone. They went into mourning and hiding. And the words of the two disciples whom Jesus encountered along the road after His resurrection reveal just how dejected they were.

“He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.”– Luke 24:19-21 NLT

“he was raised on the third day” – Jesus was not a martyr; He was the Messiah, the anointed one of God, who died and was raised back to life through the power of the Holy Spirit. He was raised to new life and walked out of the tomb in His resurrected body, proving that He had accomplished what He had come to do and had satisfied the just demands of His Father in heaven. Just a few verses later in this chapter, Paul writes, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17 ESV). He follows that up with the good news that “In fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20 ESV). It is His resurrection that assures us of our future hope of eternal life and the glorification of these earthly bodies. The apostle John assures us, “We are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2 ESV).

“in accordance with the Scriptures” – Once again, the Scriptures predicted Christ’s death, but also His resurrection. The prophet Isaiah wrote:

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
    Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see  and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
    make many to be accounted righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities. – Isaiah 53:10-11 ESV

He was crushed, but He was also resurrected and restored. His days were prolonged. As a result of His death and resurrection, many have been accounted as righteous.

“and that he appeared” – During the days after His resurrection, Jesus was seen by more than 500 people. His appearances to His disciples renewed their hopes and revived their commitment to follow Him. He gave them their marching orders, commissioning them to carry on His work and to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. He appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, calling him from a life marked by persecution of the church to a new mission of taking the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul’s work and words were given to Him by the resurrected Christ. And he proved faithful to do what Christ had called him to do.

Jesus died, was buried, resurrected, and appeared. That is the heart of the gospel message. And when anyone accepts the reality of those facts, placing his or her faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ, they experience salvation. They are born again and given new life in Christ. Their sins are forgiven, they are given a new nature, and they are made children of God and heirs to the Kingdom of God. They stand before Him as righteous, not because of anything they have done or accomplished, but because of the blood of Christ.

Father, thank You for the gospel, the good news of new life found in the sacrifice of Your Son. But I thank You as well for the simplicity of the gospel’s message. You took a very difficult and impossible to solve problem and provided a simple solution. You sent Your Son as the substititionary atonement for the debt we owed. He died so would not have to. He paid the penalty for our sins and satisfied Your righteous judgment against us. And I am eternally grateful for the glorious gift of Your grace, mercy, and love. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Completion, Not Competition, Is the Goal

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV

The Christian life is not a competition. It does not pit one believer against another in some kind of race for spiritual supremacy or religious recognition. Christians are not to compare themselves with one another to prove that they are somehow more spiritually superior or further along in their faith. So, Paul’s words in these closing verses of chapter nine are not intended to encourage a spirit of competition between brothers and sisters in Christ. Instead, he is calling believers to strive in the “race” of life. But his emphasis is on completion, not competition.

Paul wants the Corinthians to live their lives with purpose, keeping the ultimate goal of their salvation in mind. It was the way he lived his own life and the reason he told Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8 ESV).

Paul knew there was more to existence than his earthly, temporal life. He had a strong sense of the eternal and lived with the constant awareness that his days on earth were numbered. The older he got, the more he realized the end of his earthly existence was drawing closer. He even told Timothy, “The time of my departure has come” (2 Timothy 4:6 ESV). He knew that he would die one day and be called to stand before God, where his efforts at running the race on this earth would be judged and rewarded. So as long as he drew breath, he ran with purpose, with his eyes on the ultimate goal. He wanted to finish the race well and was unconcerned about whether he came in first or last place. He simply wanted to give his all for the cause of Christ.

When Paul talks about “the prize”, he is referring to the award given to the victor who participated in the Greek games. It was typically a crown of garlands, but Paul is using the word metaphorically to refer to our heavenly prize: eternal life. It is the same word he used when writing to the Philippian believers.

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 3:13-14 ESV

The goal of our existence is eternal in nature and is not about earthly superiority, comfort, convenience, pleasure, recognition, or temporal rewards. Our reward doesn’t come in this life; it is reserved for the life to come. We may experience God’s blessings here, but the best is yet to come. So, Paul tells us to run with our eyes fixed on the prize, keeping the proper goal in mind.

This requires self-discipline and a determination not to let yourself be distracted or deterred from your goal. It requires training and persistent practice. Again, Paul encouraged his young protégé, Timothy, to remain committed to the cause of Christ.

Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. – 2 Timothy 2:3-5 NLT

We have to stay focused because distractions are a constant threat to those of us who are running the race of life as believers. The world would have us pursue other goals and tempt us with different finish lines. We could easily make our lives all about success or significance. We could spend all our time pursuing pleasure and prosperity. We could be driven to win the prize of temporal happiness rather than eternal joy. So Paul tells us to run purposefully, not aimlessly. He encourages us to remain committed to crossing the finish line that God has set for us. The author of Hebrews gives us similar words of encouragement.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. – Hebrews 12:1 NLT

Competitive runners have every right to eat what they want. After all, they expend far more calories than the average person. And because they put so much stress and strain on their bodies, they have the right to sleep in and take it easy. But the most dedicated and determined runners don’t do those things. Instead, they discipline their bodies and forego their rights so that they may gain the prize. To achieve victory, they give up their temporal desires, and that is how it should be with us as believers. We should never let our earthly rights and privileges get in the way of the pursuit of our eternal reward. And because our life on this earth is to be done in the context of community, we are to run the race collectively, not independently.

Paul wanted all the Corinthians to finish strong. He was their coach and cheerleader, running alongside them, urging them on, and keeping them focused on the prize. We are to do the same for one another.

This mindset was demonstrated at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil. During one of the longer races in the track and field competition, two young ladies were inadvertently tripped up as all the competitors jockeyed for position. They both fell to the track, ending their hopes of advancing to the next round of competition. But then, in a demonstration of sportsmanship, one of the runners got up and reached down to help her fallen competitor get to her feet. Together, they made their way slowly and painfully around the track until they were able to cross the finish line together.

That is the picture that comes into my mind when I read these words from Paul. At some point, we have to focus our attention on completing rather than competing. We have to make it our aim to finish the race, whatever the cost, because the reward that awaits us is well worth the effort. But along the way, we need to care for those who are running at our side. We should desire to see them make it to the end as well.

Paul would have us run with endurance the race God has set before us, but never to run while ignoring all those who run beside us. Our obsession with crossing the finish line should never be at the expense of other believers who might need our encouragement and assistance along the way.

Father, sometimes we become so focused on the prize that we forget that we need to run the race to receive it. We know that our eternal salvation has been paid for by Christ and is guaranteed by God the Father. But that assurance of salvation can lead to apathy and spiritual laziness in this life. I think that is why Paul stresses the idea of running the race. It is not that I have to earn or win my salvation; that was taken care of by Christ. But I can’t afford to rest on my laurels and live as if there is nothing more for me to do. Paul is calling me to a life marked by determination and a commitment to honor Christ in all that I do. Eternity is the prize and it awaits me at the end of my life. But I want to live like the prize matters. I want it to motivate and determine my actions and attitudes. Help me to run hard and finish well. But never let me ignore all those who are running alongside me in the race of life. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

For the Good of the Gospel

8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. – 1 Corinthians 9:8-18 ESV

At first glance, it might appear that Paul is making a bigger issue out of this than seems appropriate. He appears to be belaboring the point that he has the right to compensation for his work as an apostle. He has gone out of his way to portray himself as the one who helped plant the church in Corinth by sharing the gospel with them in the first place.

But Paul has a much greater issue in mind here, and it happens to be the integrity of the gospel itself. This really isn’t about people’s right to eat meat sacrificed to idols or Paul’s right to remuneration for his ministry activities. It is about the responsibility of every believer to ensure that the gospel is presented clearly and represented accurately to a lost and dying world.

When Paul said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16b ESV), he was stating his heartfelt belief that he was obligated by Christ to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. It was his God-ordained commission, and he was not going to let anything stand in the way of him accomplishing his responsibility, including his right to have all his financial and material needs taken care of by those under his care. 

Paul makes it clear that he has every right to expect compensation, and he used the Mosaic Law as his defense. It dictated that even an ox treading grain was to be left unmuzzled and allowed to eat as it worked. The man who plows the field and the one who threshes the harvested wheat both do so in hopes of getting their fair share of the bounty.

Others ministered to the Corinthians who were being compensated for their efforts, so why were Paul and Barnabas not afforded the same rights? Were they not just as deserving? But Paul insists, “we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:12 ESV). Paul didn’t want anyone to accuse him of doing the Lord’s work for financial gain. He refused to give anyone the satisfaction of portraying him as a prophet for profit. The gospel was too important to him, and he was willing to give up his rights for its sake.

Paul’s whole approach to the gospel was different than that of others. He saw himself as compelled by God to do what he did. He couldn’t help but preach the gospel because it was not something he had decided to do on his own initiative. It had not been his idea; he had been called by God and given a non-negotiable command to take the gospel to the Gentiles. If Paul were doing this on his own accord, he would have every right to demand payment for his services, just like every other teacher or rabbi. But Paul saw his reward as coming from God, not man. He had a radically different perspective.

What then is my pay? It is the opportunity to preach the Good News without charging anyone. That’s why I never demand my rights when I preach the Good News. – 1 Corinthians 9:18 NLT

Paul’s reward was being able to share the gospel free of charge, so he paid his own way. He covered his own expenses or was aided by the generous contributions of other believers outside of Corinth. In fact, in his second letter to the Corinthians, he explains how he was able to minister to them without demanding anything in return.

Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return? I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost. And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be.  – 2 Corinthians 11:7-9 NLT

The bottom line was that Paul was more interested in spreading the gospel than getting what he rightfully deserved. He labored long and hard. He sacrificed greatly to take the good news of Jesus Christ to lands in which the name of Jesus had not yet been heard. He suffered physically and sacrificed financially and materially. But he was able to tell the Philippians, “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13 NLT).

He did what he did for Christ’s sake and in His power, and he had suffered greatly as a result, a point he made earlier in this letter.

Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment. – 1 Corinthians 4:11-13 NLT

Why was Paul willing to suffer such things? He provides the answer:

We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ. – 1 Corinthians 9:12b NLT

When our rights get in the way of getting the good news out, we become an obstacle to the will of God. We allow our rights to take precedence over the primacy of the gospel. When facing the prospect of losing His own life, Jesus was able to say to His Heavenly Father, “not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42 ESV).

As the Son of God, He gave up His right to be honored and treated with the highest esteem. Instead, He allowed those He had created to humiliate Him and take His life, all for the sake of the gospel. Are we not willing to give up our rights and die to our selfish desires so that others might hear the life-changing message of the good news?

Father, Paul’s life is an inspiration but it also sets such a high bar when it comes to service and sacrifice. Yet, he was simply modeling his life after that of Christ. He loved as Christ loved. and suffered as Christ suffered, all for the sake of the gospel. Yet, I find it easy to come up with excuses for my lack of commitment and my aversion to cost. Why do I think I have the right to a trouble-free life when Your own Son willingly sacrificed His life on my behalf? He gave up his rights and privileges for my sake. He didn’t view His status as God’s Son as a privilege that preempted Him from accomplishing His Father’s will or suffering the fate ordained for Him. He went to the cross willingly, and His death was an act of love. Give me the strength to see my life as an opportunity to live and love as Christ did. May I be able to embrace the mindset of Peter: “Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world” (1 Peter 4:13 NLT). Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Joy of a Distraction-Free Life

32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

36 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. 37 But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. 38 So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better.

39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God. – 1 Corinthians 7:32-40 ESV

There is little doubt that Paul’s view is a bit idealistic. His motivation is sincere, but he is looking at the situation through the lens of his own life. He was a single man who had totally dedicated his life to the mission of spreading the gospel among the Gentile nations. He was totally committed to the commission given to him by Christ and would not allow anything or anyone to distract him. When Paul said, “I wish that all were as I myself am” (1 Corinthians 7:7 ESV), he was referring to his singleness. To the unmarried, he stated his opinion that “it is good for them to remain single as I am” (1 Corinthians 7:8 ESV).

Paul knew that life could be difficult and was full of commitments and requirements on one’s time. There are the daily demands of life, such as work, providing for one’s family, relational issues, as well as societal demands and expectations. For the married individual, those things multiply exponentially. Which is why Paul advocated singleness. But this is where his idealistic nature comes out. He says, “the unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:32 ESV). In an ideal world, an undistracted, fully dedicated Christ-follower may find himself “anxious about the things of the Lord,” but not necessarily. There are plenty of unmarried men and women who find themselves anxious about anything and everything but the Lord. Singleness is not an antidote to spiritual distraction or the cure for an anemic commitment to Christ.

There is little doubt that the fewer earthly commitments and distractions we have, the easier it should be for us to dedicate our time and attention to the things of God. But it doesn’t always work out that way.

Paul writes, “the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife” (1 Corinthians 7:33 ESV). He is not saying a husband’s commitment to care for the needs of his wife and family is wrong. He is simply emphasizing the reality that the married individual will have a more difficult time finding the time to serve God without neglecting his family. Again, Paul is not indicating that caring for one’s wife and family is somehow unspiritual or insignificant. In reality, Paul knew well that a Christian was required by God to love his or her spouse and family well. They were to live out their faith in Christ within the context of the marriage union and display a Christ-like determination to love sacrificially and selflessly.

To be a godly wife or husband is a huge commitment, and that seems to be Paul’s point. As a single man, Paul was completely free to go and do whatever God demanded of him. He had few, if any, commitments that would keep him from responding to God’s call on his life.

Ideally, “the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit” (1 Corinthians 7:34 ESV). For Paul, singleness brought a singularity of focus, and he longed for others to experience that same freedom from earthly commitments and concerns. It wasn’t that he experienced no anxiety in his life, but that any anxious moments he had were usually associated with his mission as God’s apostle. Any worries he experienced were not about domestic issues, but about the state of the church.

At one point, Paul told the Galatians, “I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” (Galatians 4:12 ESV). His concern for their spiritual growth was like that of a woman anxiously enduring the pains of labor as she waits for her child to be born, healthy and whole. Paul had few worldly distractions. He didn’t have a “honey-do” list, carpool duties, soccer games to attend, recitals to sit through, or do-it-yourself tasks to perform around the house. He was free to worry about the things of God, and he desired that same level of freedom for every believer. That is why he wrote, “ I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible” (1 Corinthians 7:36 NLT).

Paul makes it clear that he is not making the state of singleness more spiritual than that of marriage. To get married was not a sin, and to remain single did not make you a super saint. For Paul, it was a matter of practicality. Single people face fewer distractions and demands. They have more discretion regarding their time.  Paul told Timothy, “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:4 ESV). He seems to have had in mind a stipulation within the Mosaic law.

When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken. – Deuteronomy 24:5 ESV

Undivided attention is difficult when you have divided allegiances. Paul’s primary point in all of this has to do with devotion to God. He believed strongly that he was living in the last days and conducted his life as if Christ could return at any moment. There was no time to waste. The gospel needed to be taken to the ends of the earth. The message of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone needed to be heard by every person on every continent. To accomplish that formidable mission, Paul knew he needed the help of every able-bodied believer. He simply wanted the Corinthians to know that he was out to secure their undivided devotion to the Lord.

I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible. – 1 Corinthians 7:35 NLT

As Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2 ESV). That is the motivating force behind Paul’s words. He lived with the end in mind and deeply desired that every believer would share his passion for proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and experience the joy of a distraction-free life dedicated to the cause of Christ.

Father, it is difficult to argue with Paul’s logic, but it is also difficult to accept his conclusion. As a happily married man, I know firsthand that the role of a husband is full of distractions. My wife could easily testify to the many times I have made her walk with the Lord harder than it has to be. But we both know that God has used our marriage relationship to sanctify and perfect us. I strongly believe that we have accomplished more for the kingdom together than we would have even done on our own. Yet, I hear what Paul is saying. I understand his desire to see more believers sold out to the cause of Christ. Show my wife and me how to use our marriage for the good of the Kingdom. Don’t allow us to turn our divinely ordained union into a self-consumed, it’s-all-about-us relationship that loses sight of the Great Commission and fails to put the needs of others first. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Please God, Not Men

1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. – 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 ESV

Paul is still concerned with the divisive factions within the body of Christ in Corinth. In his estimation, the believers in Corinth have a faulty view of Christian leadership. Their assessments of those who minister to them are based on worldly criteria. In the end, some chose to follow Paul, some Apollos, and others, Cephas. It was nothing more than a popularity contest. But Paul wanted them to understand that each of these men, himself included, was a servant of Christ. The Greek word Paul uses is ὑπηρέτης (hypēretēs) and it refers to “an underrower or subordinate rower” – one of the slaves who served as a rower in the hold of a ship’s galley (“G5257 - hypēretēs - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). They served under the direction and authority of a superior. This same Greek word was used to describe a servant or “anyone who aids another in any work.”

Paul wanted the Corinthians to see himself and the other men who ministered to them as servants of Christ. He even compares them to household stewards (οἰκονόμος (oikonomos), the manager “to whom the head of the house or proprietor has entrusted the management of his affairs” (“G3623 - oikonomos - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible).

Paul, Apollos, and Cephas were nothing more than stewards of the message of the gospel entrusted to them by Jesus, and Paul tells the Corinthians, “This is how one should regard us” (1 Corinthians 4:1a ESV). There was no reason to idolize these men. Paul also wanted the Corinthians to know that he and the others were not their servants; they did not work for them. They were “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1b ESV). As a steward of Christ, Paul knew that he must answer to no one but God. His ministry was being judged by God, and that was all that mattered to him. He was determined to be faithful in the execution of his divine assignment to reveal “the mysteries of God.”

At the heart of the factionalism that existed in the Corinthian church was a spirit of judgment. In order to elevate one man over another, the believers in Corinth were judging their value and worth based on external criteria. They were choosing sides based solely on the merit of things such as speaking skills, charisma, physical appearance, intelligence, persuasiveness, and popularity. They each had their favorite. Some may have preferred Apollos because he was a dynamic speaker. Others might have gravitated to Cephas because he seemed more in touch with the common man. Those who followed Paul had discovered something about him that they liked. But Paul said, “As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority” (1 Corinthians 4:3 NLT).

He didn’t care what they thought about him; he was unconcerned with their evaluation of his abilities. In fact, Paul wasn’t even willing to trust his own judgment of himself. He knew himself to be a lousy judge of his performance or effectiveness. While he might feel free to give himself a high score for effort, he knew his evaluation meant nothing. Which is what led him to say, “My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide” (1 Corinthians 4:4 NLT). Paul followed the advice he had given the believers in Rome.

Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. – Romans 12:3 NLT

And even after judging himself soberly and seriously, Paul knew that the only judgment that mattered was what Christ would have to say when He returned. So, he warned the Corinthians believers, “do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes” (1 Corinthians 4:5a ESV). In other words, they were not to pre-judge prematurely. James gives a sobering warning against judging one another.

There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? – James 4:12 ESV

It wasn’t up to the Corinthians to judge the ministry effectiveness of one man over another. It wasn’t their responsibility to determine the worth or value of one of God’s servants based on outward appearances or earthly criteria. They needed to remember that God alone would “bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart” (1 Corinthians 4:5b ESV). God Himself claims, “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds” (Jeremiah 17:10 ESV). And according to that same passage, we are incapable of knowing the condition of our own hearts, let alone the heart of someone else.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? – Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

Just as Paul was attempting to be a faithful servant of Christ and a trustworthy steward of the mysteries of God, he called on the Corinthians to faithfully focus their attention on God and not men. They were to see themselves as followers of Christ alone. They were to respect Paul, Cephas, and Apollos as servants of Christ, but not revere and worship them.

Like the believers in Corinth, we have the habit of making much of men. We also tend to judge our leaders based on external, worldly factors. We can be easily swayed by soaring rhetoric and lofty words. We can be taken in by a winsome demeanor and fall prey to the cult of personality. But Paul would have us remain focused on the message, not the messenger. What makes the good news great is its content, not the communicator. Men don’t save, God does. Men don’t change lives; the gospel does. And long after Paul, Cephas, and Apollos disappeared from the scene, the message of salvation through Christ continues to spread. Many messengers have come and gone, but the message remains the same, and the promises of God hold firm.

Father, as a pastor, it can become tempting to think that I work for the congregation I serve. Yet, Paul would remind me that I am Your servant and no one else’s. My job is not to please the flock, it is to feed them. I don’t need to worry about whether they like me or not. Instead, I need to ensure that I am faithful to the call You have placed on my life. I work for You. Your evaluation of me is all that matters. But the praise of men is a powerful drug. The admiration of others is a strong incentive that can lead to ministry drift and spiritual compromise. The church has always wrestled with a spirit of unspiritual judgment, where we either elevate or falsely evaluate others based on ungodly criteria. We can’t see inside anyone’s heart, but You can. And You alone can judge justly and rightly. May we spend more time focusing on Your expections and evaluation of us than we do worrying about what men think about us. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.